


This crush ain't going away

by Hizzie_Hizzie



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Everyone loves Mg, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Henelope friendship, Light Angst, Lizzie and Mg are bff, Lizzie needs a hug, Slow Burn, legaycies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2019-11-15 06:40:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 36,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18068489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hizzie_Hizzie/pseuds/Hizzie_Hizzie
Summary: Mg had had enough of Lizzie’s and Hope’s banter so he decided to take matters into his own hands.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In this story, 1x12 never happened. Hope and Landon aren't dating. Everything else is the same but better because of hizzie obviously. Enjoy : )

Mg has had enough of Lizzie’s and Hope’s banter so he decided to take matters into his own hands. Indeed, he grew tired of Lizzie and Hope constantly fighting and provoking each other as soon as they could. He loved them both and wanted them to get along. He knew that deep down both girls just wanted to somehow get the other girl’s attention. He knew that Lizzie tried many times to befriend Hope only to be rejected and he knew that she was hurting by the fact that suddenly Hope and Josie acted as if they were best friends. After all, he was the only one who really understood Lizzie, blame it on the fact that he has always been her best friends even though at some point Mg developed a silly crush on Lizzie but he quickly got over it as soon as he met Jed Park, Penelope’s cousin. Speaking of the devil, here she was surrounded by the witches. She noticed him and smiled at him. Penelope has always been soft for the young nerdy vampire. She didn’t know a nicer person, well except her JoJo, obviously. Mg stopped right in front of her.

‘ Hello, Penelope. Could I talk to you privately, please? ’ asked Mg smirking knowing that Penelope would love his idea. Penelope agreed as pointed before she could never say no to Mg. She raised her hand and the rest of the witches walked away. Mg laughed admiring his friend’s affluence on the witches. He sat next to her on the stairs. ‘ So I was wondering if perhaps you could help me with something?’ Asked Mg. Penelope looked at him curiously and nodded. ‘ I am sure you noticed the fact that Hope and Lizzie don’t get along but I was hoping you could help me change that’ said Mg.

‘ Now why would I do that Mg? ’ Asked Penelope her usual smirk plastered on her face.

‘ Because you care about Hope and want her to have new friends and also because you love me and can’t say no to this pretty face’ he replied showing his cutest smile to Penelope who just laughed. ‘ Just think about it, if Lizzie becomes friend with Hope that means you can spend more time with Josie’ said Mg knowing that he definitely will get Penelope’s help. 

‘ Well, then tell me more about your plan’ answered Penelope more than pleased with the idea of having Josie all for herself. She thought that maybe if Lizzie got busy spending time with Hope, then maybe Josie would stop avoiding her. She looked down, hurting just thinking about Josie not having read her letter and avoiding her just to then kiss her. Josie was so confusing, she knew that she still loved her but sometimes she felt like maybe she lost Josie for good when she broke up with her. Penelope reminded herself that she did it for Josie so that she could start standing up for herself before the merge happens. She could live without Josie as her girlfriend but she couldn’t handle the idea of Josie dying. Mg noticed Penelope frowning and somehow understood that she was probably thinking about Josie.

‘ She loves you Penelope ’ said Mg touching her friend’s shoulder. Penelope looked up and slightly smiled at him.

‘ I know ’ she answered looking away before asking Mg to explain his plan which he immediately did hoping that it would distract Penelope from her thoughts. He told her about his idea of getting Lizzie and Hope at the same place and then cast a spell so that they can’t get out of the room and hopefully get their shit together. Penelope agreed to cast the spell. Deep down she hoped that they will be able to talk it through, Hope had told her that she never understood why Lizzie hated her so much and even if she didn’t show it she didn’t really hate Lizzie. She knew that the girl was trying a be a better sister to Josie and a better human being as Hope told her about Lizzie’s bracelet. 

Mg texted Lizzie and Hope to meet him as soon as possible in a random room. They both quickly texted back saying they are on their ways unaware of what was going to happen. Mg and Penelope hid behind a corner, they saw Hope get in the room first, Mg texted her saying he was almost there. Then, Lizzie entered the room, Penelope quickly casted the spell, winked at Mg and she walked away from the drama that was going to unfold. 

Lizzie walked in expecting to see her best friend Mg but met Hope’s blue eyes. Both of them looked confused.

‘ What are you doing here’ spoke up Lizzie while texting Mg asking him where he was. 

‘ I waiting for Mg, he told me to come asap, what are you doing here? ’ answered Hope narrowing her eyes.

‘ He told you to come here too?’ Asked Lizzie, her mind connecting the dots. ‘ Oh God’ she complained as they both received a text from Mg telling them to fix their shit together. Lizzie shook her head not believing that Mg would betray her like that. ‘Well, this was fun, I am out’ said Lizzie walking towards the door. However, when she tried to open it, she couldn’t, she tried to cast a spell but it didn’t work. She turned around, walked to the only couch and sat down. ‘I guess we’re stuck here’ she said looking up at Hope who then walked towards her and sat down next to Lizzie on the couch leaving just a few inches between them. No one talked, both of them on their phones pretending to be busy and not acknowledging each other’s presence. The tension was rising because of the awkward silence. Hope got a text from Penelope telling her to be the bigger person and asked Lizzie what she’s been wondering for so long. Hope rolled her eyes because of course, Penelope was the one to cast the spell, she did it to her once already with Rafael. She quickly texted her friend with a simple but efficient ‘I hate you’. Penelope sent her a winking emoji with a little ‘ you’ll thank me later’. Hope decided to put her phone away, she nervously looked up and stared at Lizzie wondering if she should follow Penelope’s advice or not. Meanwhile, Mg texted Lizzie and told her that she won’t be able to leave until she talks to Hope. Lizzie groaned, put her phone in her pocket and turned to look directly at Hope only to find her already staring at her. 

‘ We’re stuck here and Mg won’t let us out until we talk. So if you have something to say.’ Said Lizzie, her face showing how annoyed she was to be put in this situation which made Hope wonder if Lizzie hated her that much that she couldn’t stand having a conversation with her. 

‘ You know what, yes we do need to talk and I would like it if you could tell me why you hate me so much’ answered Hope. Lizzie started frowning and she felt herself becoming angrier and angrier every passing second.

‘Are you kidding me?’ Snapped Lizzie as she directly looked into Hope’s eyes, her own fueled with hatred but Hope quickly realized that Lizzie also looked hurt. Lizzie’s hands started to shake, Hope noticed it and wanted to hold them to calm her down but she knew better than to do it. She tried to think but really couldn’t find something that she did that could upset Lizzie that much, sure when they were younger she has always refused to be her friend but Lizzie stopped trying when she was thirteen so it couldn’t be this. Thinking about it, she realized Lizzie started hating her even more at that time. Her mind was going crazy, on one hand, she wanted to leave this room immediately and on the other hand, she wanted to talk this through with Lizzie. 

‘ Lizzie I swear I don’t know why you hate me so much’ she said looking at Lizzie trying to show her sincerity through her eyes. Lizzie stared deeply into Hope’s eyes trying to find a sign of dishonesty but she couldn’t so she looked away and sighed she wanted to disappear and kill Mg for forcing her to have this conversation with Hope. She closed her eyes trying to calm herself down and breathing in and out. Hope was now looking at Lizzie with curiosity, whatever she was doing did calm her as her hands stopped shaking. She moved her hand to touch Lizzie’s shoulder but decided against it at the last second not wanting to disturb the other girl. Lizzie opened her eyes and met Hope’s ones. They looked at each other’s eyes for what seemed to be hours but only were a few minutes. Lizzie looked so vulnerable and distressed that it hurt Hope, she felt her heart breaking at the sight of the beautiful girl in front of her who finally had let her walls down. At this moment, she wanted nothing more than to understand what she did that hurt this girl so much.

‘Please Lizzie, tell me what I did so that I can fix it’ she begged Lizzie. Lizzie wanted to hate Hope but she really seemed honest.

‘ When you burned your room on purpose to ruin my vacation with my family when we were thirteen I had my first episode and you told everyone about it ’ said Lizzie getting upset just thinking about it.

‘ Your what? ’ questioned Hope wondering what the hell was Lizzie talking about.

‘ My episode the one I had when our trip got canceled, you told everyone that I was witch bipolar’ explained Lizzie while looking away clearly hurt by this insult. She didn’t ask to have this mental illness and she often wondered what would her life look like if she didn’t have it. Would she be a better sister? Would her mother be here more often? Would Hope be her friend? Would she feel less lonely? 

‘ I would never do that ’ said Hope. Hearing this Lizzie snapped back to reality. This seemed to only angered Lizzie even more as she now stood up, walked away from the girl and started pacing. Hope immediately followed the girl but kept a safe distance between them. Lizzie stopped pacing around and turned towards Hope.

‘ Just drop the act, will you? ’ yelled Lizzie tired of Hope lying to her and walking closer to her. At this point, she just wanted her to admit what she did instead of pretending. ‘ I had my first occurrence, my mom took me away to get help and you decided to use it against me’ added Lizzie no longer yelling but Hope could still hear the irritation and the anger in Lizzie’s voice. Hope took a deep breath and walked closer to Lizzie, only a foot separated them. 

‘ I didn’t even know, I swear I would never do that’ Said Hope looking into Lizzie’s eyes trying to convey her honesty to the taller girl. ‘ If you really thought I said all those things about you, then you hating me makes perfect sense. But with a father and a great father like mine, I am probably not immune to those issues myself. I don’t take it lightly and I would never make fun of you for it’ added seriously Hope in a soft voice. She could see Lizzie looking at her face and back to her eyes analyzing her words.

‘ I believe you ’ answered Lizzie smiling faintly. She shook her head, sat down on the couch thinking about what Hope just told her. If Hope wasn’t lying then it only meant one thing. She closed her eyes choosing to ignore the thought that crossed her mind. When she opened them Hope was also sitting on the couch next to her.

‘ By the way, I didn’t burn my room, it doesn’t make sense, I lost all of my precious belongings such as my paintings with my dad. ’ Said Hope wanting to clear everything up with Lizzie. She remembered how she cried for nights because of her that. At least, these paintings were carved into her mind. ‘ What I don’t get is why anyone would accuse me of that. Where did you hear it from? ’ Asked Hope. Lizzie looked down, refusing to accept that her sister would lie to her and drive a wedge between Hope and her. She started frowning, she felt lost, confused, how could her sister lie to her when it was supposed to be the two of them against the rest of the world. She felt tears running down her face and before she could wimp them away Hope erased them with her thumbs. She started shaking and sobbing, Hope directly hugged her. Somehow, she felt slightly better in Hope’s arms, safe. It took her a few minutes to calm down and let go of Hope’s embrace. 

‘ I might need some alcohol’ said Lizzie laughing the pain away. Hope decided that maybe she needed some alcohol too so she whispered a spell and a bottle of vodka appeared. Hope opened it and offered it to Lizzie.

‘ It looks like you need it more than me’ she said as Lizzie took a long gulp straight from the bottle. She coughed and passed the bottle to Hope who only took a sip of the vodka before putting the bottle down. 

‘ Josie ’ simply said Lizzie. ‘ Josie is the one who told me about you burning your room on purpose and you starting rumors about me at school’ added Lizzie when she saw how confused she was. Hope couldn’t believe it. Why would Josie do such a thing when she was always nice to her. She felt betrayed by her new friend and couldn’t even imagine how much pain Lizzie must be in right now. Wanting to show Lizzie how sorry she was, she held her hand and smiled at Lizzie who smiled back. ‘ It sucks ’ she sighed and rested her head on Hope’s shoulder appreciating any kind of comfort right now. Hope rested her head on Lizzie’s head. 

‘I am really sorry, I can’t imagine how you must feel but I think we should talk to her once we’re out of here’ said Hope, she felt Lizzie nod and decided that perhaps all Lizzie needed for the moment was silence. Hope closed her eyes and enjoyed Lizzie’s presence.

‘ I am sorry for the way I have been treating you Hope ’ she warmly said. She really meant it, she would have never behaved this way towards her if Josie never lied to her in the first place. 

‘ You didn’t have to apologize but thank you, Lizzie. I am also sorry for provoking you as soon as I could. I acted this way because I thought you hated me for no reason. ’ explained Hope. Lizzie didn’t answer and Hope noticed that the girl was lost in her thoughts probably still struggling to come to terms with all of this new information. And lost in her thoughts, she was. Indeed, Lizzie couldn’t stop thinking that even if all of this was clear, she still didn’t know why Hope had always refused to be her friend.

‘ Can I ask you a question? ’ asked Lizzie while letting go of Hope’s hand and lifting her head from her shoulder. Hope nodded looking curiously at the girl you seemed nervous so she smiled at her and encouraged her to ask her question. 

‘ Why did you always turned me down when I tried to befriend you when we were younger way before I started hating you because of Josie? ’ asked Lizzie looking away from Hope. She bit her lips anxiously waiting for Hope’s answer. Hope quickly noticed the action and stared at her lips, when she realized what she was doing she looked away and thought about her answer. Once everything was crystal clear in her mind, she made eye contact with Lizzie who appeared so defenseless under Hope’s eyes.

‘ I was very reserved back then and I honestly felt more comfortable alone. I wasn’t in a state of mind to befriend people, my family couldn’t remain in the same room because of me. I felt like I put an end to our family motto ‘always and forever’ and I missed my dad’ truthfully answered Hope. She felt her heart breaking just thinking about her family, she missed them every day, her father, her mom, her uncle. She was still mourning them after all. She wished she could see the rest of her family more often tho. She loved spending her time learning spells with her aunts Freya and Davina.

‘ I am sorry you went through all of this, you deserve so much better than all of these hardships’ said Lizzie realizing that she wasn’t the only one with family issues. ‘ This probably won’t change anything but I am sure that your parents are proud of you. You’re an amazing person, you’re selfless, empathic and always ready to help your friends.’ Added Lizzie smiling at Hope. 

‘ Thank you, Lizzie, it does mean a lot ’ she said smiling, however, it quickly turned into the infamous Mikaelson’s smirk. ‘ I didn’t know you paid that much attention to me though’ she added and laughed as she saw a blush appearing on Lizzie’s face as she rolled her eyes.

‘ Shut up Hope!’ She said laughing too. ‘ Besides it’s not because I hated you that I didn’t pay attention. You know what they said keep your friends close but your enemies closer ’ she added trying to justify herself. Hope switched her position to completely face Lizzie while she discreetly got closer to her.

‘ Well, I am more than honored to know that you kept taps on me’ she said still smirking. 

‘ Can you blame me though? You’re the only tribid on earth, you’re probably the most powerful being and I am sure you’ve heard that I don’t like competition’ she said slightly getting closer to Hope. ‘Besides, you’re not that bad looking so excuse me for fearing for my crown ’ added Lizzie winking at Hope. Hope’s smirk grew, was Lizzie flirting with her and did she just called her hot? Lizzie was low-key insulting herself wondering where did she found the courage to say such a thing to Hope, someone she hated literally just a few hours ago. What was she going to do next, admit her crush to Hope. She needed to get a hold of herself.

‘ Well, you’re not so bad looking yourself Lizzie’ Hope answered. Lizzie looked away, bit her lips in order to hide her smile. Hope noticed though which made her smile. Lizzie looked back, smiling fondly at her and Hope could feel her heart beating fast, too fast. What was happening to her? She felt her eyes falling on Lizzie’s lips and she couldn’t take it anymore. She was drowning in Lizzie’s perfume, Lizzie’s eyes, Lizzie’s lips. She felt herself moving closer and closer to her. Really she wasn’t in control of her body anymore. Her hand touched Lizzie’s cheek and rested on Lizzie’s face. Lizzie closed her eyes and melted into Hope’s touch. She wasn’t used to this much affection. Suddenly, the door opened and just like that the magic disappear, Hope removed her hand, Lizzie quickly opened her eyes.

‘ Whoop whoop witches! ’ Of course, thought Lizzie. The she-devil had to ruin this for her. But what was really about to happen anyway? Was Hope really going to kiss or was it just her imagination messing with her? Lizzie thought that she surely misinterpreted the moment. They hated each other and just cleared things up now, she wasn’t about to mess up what could be the beginning of a new friendship just because of a silly crush.

‘ Of course, you were the one who casted the spell. ’ She said rolling her eyes while standing up. She looked at Hope and smiled ‘I’ll see you around Hope ’ she said before leaving and narrowing her eyes at Penelope as she walked past her. 

Meanwhile, Hope was still sitting on the couch thinking about everything that just happened or rather what could have happened if Penelope never walked in and took the magic away, literally.


	2. Chapter 2

‘ You had a crush on me?’ said Hope tilting her head as a small smile started appearing on her face.

 

‘ Of course, I did. Who wouldn’t? ’ said Josie looking straight into Hope’s eyes thinking about how they used to mesmerized her. Well, that was until Penelope showed up with her marvelous green eyes, adorable smile, charming personality, and snarky comments. She sighed softly lost in her thoughts about the one and only Penelope Park. 

 

Lizzie watched the scene unfolding from the sideline. Strangely, seeing Hope and her sister smiling and looking at each other irritated her. But she didn’t even have time to acknowledge this irritation as her she felt the room starting to spin and her anger rising. She quickly left the room, walking toward the kitchen, hoping that no one would be there in the middle of the night. She wasn’t angry at her sister. No, she was angry at herself for being the worst sister to Josie. She entered the kitchen, closed the door to prevent anyone from entering. She knew she was about to have an episode. God, she hated herself, she was such a bad sister that her twin didn’t trust her, Josie was right she always went after Josie’s crushes because she didn’t want to be abandoned by her sister. She needed her sister. Clearly, Josie didn’t. She’s been nothing but a burden to Josie, preventing her from being happy. She was awful, loveless, selfish and a monster. At this point, she was full of crying and yelling, casting spells to throw objects against the walls of the kitchen for the second time. She felt heartbroken. She couldn’t breathe anymore. She was a monster, a disease. The only thing that she could hear was her sister voice over and over again; ‘ I didn’t just lie, I started the fire ’, ‘ I didn’t want Lizzie to know the truth ’, ‘ because my whole life any time I have ever liked anyone you go for them and you always win ’. She sat down in a corner of the room, she tried to calm herself. She breathed in and out until she finally felt some air entering her lungs. Tears were still running down her face. She couldn’t handle her thoughts right now. She was tired and wanting nothing but sleep but she knew she couldn’t face her sister, not in this state of mind. So she stayed there crying and silently wishing for her mother to hold her and tell her that everything will be alright. But her wish never came true anyway and cold and alone she fell asleep. 

 

Meanwhile, Hope snapped back to reality as soon as Lizzie left, she was about to follow her but then decided that she needed to talk with Josie first. She turned around and faced Josie who looked as guilty as sin. Hope sat on Lizzie’s bed and Josie sat on her own bed looking down, ashamed of her actions. Hope was angry at Josie, of course, she was but Hope knew that yelling wasn’t the solution so she wanted to have a real talk with her as her mom taught her to do.

 

‘ Josie, I forgive you for what you did, you were only thirteen but you’re older now. You need to take responsibility for yourself.’ Said Hope and Josie nodded. ‘ You know that you need to apologize to Lizzie right?’ Added Hope and Josie groaned.

 

‘ She’ll never forgive me. She probably hates me now. ’ Said Josie, tearing up already imagining Lizzie ignoring her constantly. Hope shook her head, stood up and sat next to Josie.

 

‘ Lizzie doesn’t hate you, she would never. You’re her sister, her twin, her friend. Right now, she needs some time away to think but I assure you that she doesn’t hate you.’ Said Hope before making eye contact with Josie. ‘ I am afraid she might actually be hating on herself. She has been trying to be a better sister to you. She already knows that you consider her as the worst sister as you told her when you were under the slug’s influence and now knowing that her sister who she trusts with her life doesn’t trust her enough to share a silly crush. That must hurt a lot. And on top of that, she must feel betrayed by you. You invented that rumor, she believed that everyone thought she was crazing and that’s why she’s been mean to people. She rather hurt people than being hurt by others if it makes sense.’ Explained Hope who tried to express Lizzie’s point of view to Josie. ‘ Listen the two of you clearly have some codependency issues, you guys will need to work through that together. But first, you’ll have to apologize and surely with time you’ll earn back her trust.’ Declared Hope. She squeezed Josie’s hand before walking away and as she was about to leave she turned around. ‘ By the way, I also had a crush on you. What can I say I am not immune to the Saltzman’s charm. Like father like daughter, isn’t that what they say?’ Revealed Hope before smiling at the younger girl who smiled back wiping her tears before finally exiting the room. 

 

As Hope passed by Penelope’s dorm, she thought that maybe she should let her friend know so that she would stop blaming Lizzie for Josie’s behavior. So she knocked. Penelope opened the door surprised to see her friend this late, still, she let her come in. Hope directly told Penelope everything from what happened earlier today with Lizzie to her conversation with Josie. Now that she knew all go this, she understood the twin’s relation and Josie’s demeanor, all this time, her guilt was surely eating her alive and always maybe here for Lizzie was her way outweigh her mistake. She regretted what she told Lizzie and felt sorry for her as she knew she didn’t handle well this kind of situation. Hope even mentioned her old crush on Josie and Penelope laughed and told her how could someone crush on Josie. Hope thought that this bitch was really in love. She hoped that they will manage to actually talk and listen to each other and fix their relationship. Anyway, she just wanted them to be happy whether it was together or not.

 

Once Josie was alone she started thinking about everything that Hope told her. She betrayed her sister and then spent three years of her life giving up everything for Lizzie because she was guilty and trying to redeem herself which only amplified their codependency. Hope was right Lizzie needed her and she needed her as well. She couldn’t afford to lose her twin. Even if Lizzie had a different way of showing it, she cared about her. That much she knew and therefore she will do anything to earn Lizzie’s forgiveness and trust. Deciding to listen to Hope’s advice, she will wait for Lizzie to come to talk to her and leave her alone for now. Besides, she also needed to get her shit together. She needed to make up her mind about Penelope. She couldn’t keep on playing with Penelope’s feelings. She knew that she must be hurting her, she couldn’t forget Penelope’s sad face when she told her that she won’t read her letter. Even if Penelope didn’t show it to the rest of the world, Josie knew that the girl was really caring and sensitive.

 

When Lizzie woke up she wasn’t in the kitchen anymore but in Mg’s room, lying next to her best friend. She looked at him who was sleeping peacefully. She hugged him and fell back asleep feeling slightly better. So what if her mom wasn’t there, as long as she had Mg in her life she’ll be just fine. 

 

The second time she woke up it was by the smell of breakfast. She opened her eyes and saw Mg walked in with a huge amount of food. He smiled at her and so did she. They spent the rest of the day hiding from the rest of the world, eating snacks and binge-watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Not once did she thought of Josie, Hope or anyone else but Mg and how she loved her best friend. Because really no one could calm her down the way Mg did and for that she’ll be forever grateful to be blessed with a friend like him. No wonder everyone loved Mg. How could you not? Around eleven pm she left Mf’s room happier and went back to her dorm. She opened the door slowly and tried to be as silent as she could in order not to wake Josie up. She blissfully fell asleep with the desire to become a better person, a better sister and promised herself that she’ll talk to Josie tomorrow. After all, she needed her sister just as much as she needed Mg.

 

The following day, she was awoken by her alarm, she groaned remembering that she had school. She got up and noticed that her sister was still asleep so walked towards Josie’s bed and woke Josie up. Josie looked confused but smiled when she noticed her sister’s smile, somehow, she felt relieved knowing that Lizzie wasn’t avoiding her. Lizzie told her that they needed to talk but that it was better to wait until tonight as they had to get ready for school. Then, they followed their usual morning routine and had breakfast with Mg who kept on talking about how Captain Marvel seemed to be an amazing movie, the girls then agreed to watch it at the theater next weekend with Mg, Kaleb, Landon, and Jed. The day went by quite slowly, she hoped she would see Hope, however she didn’t get lucky and never saw her. She was probably chasing anew monster with her father, thought Lizzie went she realized that his car wasn’t parked on the parking lot. 

 

Once, they were finally alone in their room, Lizzie and Josie talked, it surely was one of their most honest, heart to heart and real talk they’ve had since, well, forever. Lizzie expressed her point of view to her sister, she told her about how her lie impacted and made her paranoiac as she used to think that everyone was making fun of her because of her mental illness which caused her to always be defensive, cold and sometimes even unnecessarily mean to other in order to protect herself and avoid being hurt. Josie listened attentively to her sister and noticed how right Hope was. She wondered since when did Hope start paying that much attention to her sister. Lizzie also wanted to tell her about what the thoughts she has during her episodes but she decided that she’ll tell her another time. Then, it was Josie’s time to speak. She mostly apologized and explained how sorry she was. She acknowledged how wrong she was for her deeds and promised her sister that she will do her best to earn her sister’s trust back. Lizzie, of course, forgave her. They both agreed that it would take them time to stop depending so much on each other but they were ready to do anything to fix their relationship and make it healthier. 

 

Josie also mentioned her conversation with Hope. Josie informed her about Hope defending Lizzie’s point of view and how she helped her understand how wrong she was which made Lizzie happy and smile. She felt something weird in her stomach but didn’t pay it much attention as Josie announced her that Hope also had a crush on her when they were younger and Lizzie’s smile slowly fainted. Josie noticed it but decided not to mention it. Lizzie then asked her about Penelope, Josie sighed and explained to her that she needed some time to think about the idea of Penelope and her as a couple. Josie told her that she should no doubt talk with Penelope. After that, Josie asked about Rafael, Lizzie answered that it was just a silly crush, she just wanted to distract herself. Besides, she and Raf were now friendly with each other, maybe he will turn out to be a good friend. Afterward, they watched a movie and Lizzie fell asleep on Josie’s bed.

 

Around 1 am, Lizzie woke up feeling hungry and decided that a midnight snack won’t kill her. She walked to the kitchen, careful not to make noises and disturb people. When she entered the kitchen, she noticed Hope making herself a sandwich, Hope looked up to see you entered the room and instantly smiled at Lizzie who also smiled back.

 

‘ Do you want a sandwich’ asked Hope. When Lizzie answered ‘ yes please’, she started preparing it while Lizzie sat down facing her. Lizzie admired Hope’s face while she was too busy to notice it. They stayed silent until Hope sat down and gave Lizzie her sandwich, the latter thanked her, took a bite and moaned, that’s how good the sandwich tasted. Realizing what she did, she blushed and prayed that Hope did not hear that, she didn’t dare to look up. Meanwhile, Hope’s eyes were wide open and all she could think about was what she just heard. Once Hope snapped back into reality, she smirked, took a bite of her sandwich.

 

‘ So, do you like it? ’ asked Hope in an innocent voice, nevertheless, a smirk was plastered on her face. Lizzie looked up, noticed the smirk, rolled her eyes and took another bite of her sandwich. 

 

‘ I have had better ’ She playfully answered and Hope laughed. They both quickly ate their foods and smiled at each other anytime their eyes met. Then, Hope took their plates, stood up and brought them to the sink. When she came back, she sat next to Lizzie facing her instead of where she sat before. Lizzie moved in order to also face Hope. Hope smiled when she remarked a breadcrumb next to Lizzie’s mouth. 

 

‘You’ve got something here’ said Hope while pointing to her own face. Lizzie tried to remove it but failed to do so.

 

‘ It’s still there, just don’t move’ she said while moving her hand towards Lizzie’s face. Her face got closer to Lizzie’s and she could feel the taller girl’s breath hitting her face. Once she touched the tips of Lizzie’s lips, they made eye contact. Hope’s thumb brushed her lips and she let her finger linger a bit before removing the crumb and put an end their closeness. 

 

Lizzie thanked her then looked at the huge clock and noticed that it was getting late. Hope followed Lizzie’s eyes and she stood up, whispered ‘good night’ and unexpectedly kissed Lizzie’s cheek before leaving without looking back. A wide smile appeared on Lizzie’s face, she touched her cheek and she swore she could feel all again the softness of hope’s lips on her face. And once again, Lizzie fell asleep thinking of the beautiful tribid. It was slowly turning into a habit and she sure didn’t mind it.


	3. Chapter 3

The following day after her midnight snack with Hope, she had to spend her lunch break at the library because she forgot to write her essay on the genesis of witches which was due today. Therefore, she wasn’t with her sister and Mg at the cafeteria when Hope walked in. She immediately noticed Lizzie’s absence and asked Josie about it as she sat with her and Mg to eat. Josie told her that her sister didn’t have time to eat because she had to do some homework at the library. Hope decided at that moment to quickly eat and bring some food to Lizzie. Once, she was done eating her meal, she decided to go to the kitchen and make Lizzie the same sandwich that she offered her last night. She knew that the taller girl enjoyed it very much, she smirked remembering her reaction. 

Lizzie was focus on phone looking for some information related to her essay and was startled by someone sitting on the chair next to her. When she looked up to see who it was and notice Hope she smiled. Hope smiled back and put in front of Lizzie a bottle of water and a sandwich, Lizzie looked confused and so Hope explained that they were for her as she knew that she didn’t have time to eat. Lizzie’s smile grew more and when she thanked her, Hope answered ‘ what are friends for?’ Which surprised Lizzie who didn’t know that Hope considered her as her friend. She didn’t dare think that Hope would be her friend after all of the time the tribid rejected her. Lizzie grinned at the fact that Hope was now her friend. She ate her food while working on her essay meanwhile, Hope was on her phone. 

When Lizzie groaned, Hope put her phone away and asked her what was the topic of her essay and when Lizzie answered, Hope immediately offered her help and reminded Lizzie that the genesis of witches was part of her family’s history. And so, whenever Lizzie had a question she asked her friend who happily helped. Thanks to Hope’s knowledge, she ended her essay quite rapidly and they spent the rest of their break talking about the history of witches. When the bell rang, they walked out of the library and Lizzie walked Hope to her class telling the tribid that it was on her way, which wasn’t the case. Once in front of Hope’s class, they said their goodbyes and Lizzie hugged Hope as a thank you for her help. Hope reciprocated the hug, and when she let go of Lizzie’s embrace, she kissed her cheek before entering her classroom. Lizzie smiled and thought what a blessing it was to be friends with Hope if it meant that she will get to be hugged and kissed by the charming but powerful girl.

That day, when she was alone in her room with Mg, she mostly spent her time ranting about how Hope was such a good friend for what she did and Mg made fun of her for it but he mostly listened attentively to her friend talking, happy that Lizzie and Hope finally got along. Honestly, he was proud of himself, everything went as planned. Realizing how they both liked each other after being stuck in a room together and forced to talk, the idea of doing the same thing to Josie and Penelope crossed his mind. But picturing an angry Josie throwing fireballs at him rapidly made him changed his mind. When Mg was about to leave, Lizzie thanked him for making her talked to Hope which surprised him as he did not expect an acknowledgment from her even though he got one from Hope as soon as they were out of the room. 

 

Around 1 am, Lizzie woke up again and walked to the kitchen for some water. As she entered the kitchen, she saw Hope eating some ice-cream while listening to Pedro talked about his day. Hope smiled when she walked in and Pedro ran towards Lizzie and hugged her, he hasn’t seen her in a while. Lizzie hugged him back and kissed his cheek, she loved Pedro so much. Hope grinned watching the scene unfolding in front of her eyes. Pedro sat down and Lizzie sat down after drinking some water. When she noticed the fact that Pedro was eating some ice-cream, she quickly took his bowl away. Pedro complained and try to get it back by looking sad and giving Lizzie the ‘puppy eyes’ look. 

‘ Pedro, I am not letting you eat ice cream at 1 am, remembered our talk about not eating sweet food after dinner’ she said looking disappointedly at Pedro. Pedro helplessly looked at Hope who then looked at Lizzie pouting and pulling her puppy eyes. Lizzie narrowed her eyes at Hope and Pedro who were the cutest right now. She glared at Hope while also fangirling in her mind about how adorable she looked right now. Eventually, she groaned, sighed and gave Pedro his bowl back. Pedro immediately started eating his ice-cream before Lizzie changed her mind. Meanwhile, Hope smiled smugly and Lizzie rolled her eyes before stealing Hope’s bowl and eating some ice-cream while Hope just laughed not really minding it. As soon as Pedro was done eating, he yawned and Lizzie told him to go to sleep so he hugged them and left. 

‘ You seem to always be in the kitchen around the witching hour, aren’t you? ’ asked Hope.

‘ So do you. Do you have insomnia? ’ Asked back Lizzie, concerned for her friend’s sleep schedule. 

‘ I don’t know, I just have a lot of nightmares so sometimes I rather stay awake. If I am lucky, I am blessed with Pedro’s presence in the kitchen and we talk before going back to sleep’ answered Hope. ‘ Sometimes, I even end up making a sandwich for a pretty blonde who really appreciates my sandwich’ playfully added Hope. Lizzie rolled her eyes and laughed at Hope’s comment.

‘ Really, do I know her? ’ jokingly asked Lizzie.

‘ I am sure you do, I have been told that she rules this school’ amusingly revealed Hope. Lizzie narrowed her eyes at Hope.

‘ Wait, I think that I do know her, isn’t she your crush's sister, Josie?’ Asked Lizzie, playing along to Hope’s game. Hope laughed out loud and shook her head.

‘ Of course, Josie told you. And just so you know, she was my crush but not anymore.’ Answered Hope, not knowing why she felt like she needed to make it clear.

‘ Too bad, I would have loved to witness the she-devil fighting against you for Josie’s attention’ answered Lizzie smiling. Somehow, she felt relieved that Hope didn’t crush on her sister anymore. 

‘ You know that I would have won this competition’ chucked Hope.

‘ Of course, you would, you’re too powerful and pretty not to get anyone’s attention’ truthfully answered Lizzie yawning. Lizzie freaked out and hoped that Hope didn’t hear her but Hope grinned at the compliments. And at that moment, Lizzie thought that anything was worth making Hope smile. 

They both decided to go to sleep, they left the kitchen and walked in the corridors silently not to wake people up. As they arrived in front of Lizzie’s room, Hope kissed Lizzie’s cheek and whispered ‘ sweet dreams ’ before leaving a smiling Lizzie behind. She entered her room, touched her cheek where Hope kissed her and beamed. These goodbyes kisses were becoming a part of her routine and she thanked god for it. And once again, Lizzie Saltzman fell asleep thinking about her new friend, Hope Mikaelson. 

 

Two weeks have passed and soon enough, their midnight rendezvous became part of their routines. Every night, around 1 am, they would meet in the kitchen, Hope because she couldn’t sleep and Lizzie because she was hungry, at least that was what she told herself when really she just wanted an excuse to spend some alone time with Hope. Especially, because she was always so busy chasing monsters with her father, she used to be jealous of Hope but now she was jealous of her father who spent most of his time with the tribid. Every night, Hope prepared her famous sandwich and they shared it while talking about their days, most of the time Hope talked about the new monster she met. 

Once they were tired, Hope always walked Lizzie to her room claiming that it was on her way and that lately, it was dangerous to walk alone at night around school with all the monsters paying a visit to the Savaltore School. When Hope told her this, Lizzie laughed and reminded her friend that she could defend herself but deep down Lizzie thought that this gesture was really caring and cute. Plus, Hope always kissed her goodbye so she had no reasons to complain. Hope pointed out the fact that she didn’t know offensive magic and even offered Lizzie to teach her some of what her aunt Freya taught her. Lizzie happily accepted her offer and even asked Hope to help her become a better fighter as she knew Hope trained daily with her father. 

And so, here they were in the gym the following day during the afternoon after they ended school. Hope spent the whole hour teaching Lizzie technical moves and tips. They stopped and rested for five minutes before Lizzie challenged Hope and bragged about being able to beat her. Hope laughed and couldn’t wait to show the taller girl how strong she was. They stood up, ready to fight and stared at each other, a smirk noticeable on their faces. Lizzie made the first move as she got closer and tried to punch her with her right hand but Hope caught her hand, a smirk appeared on her face. Hope chucked until Lizzie’s balled fist collided with her cheekbone, flaying her neck backward like a willow caught in the wind. As she stumbled, she nearly fell, rubbing her cheek with her palm. Her action certainly took Hope by surprise. This time, Lizzie was the one smirking. 

‘ Game on’ said Hope, impressed by Lizzie, she was proud of how fast she succeeded to hit her. She approached her. Lizzie’s smirk didn’t leave her face. When she made eye contact with Hope, she winked at her before punching Hope who was completely distracted by Lizzie’s wink. She snapped back into reality and dodged Lizzie’s punch. Lizzie felt Hope’s fist hit her stomach, hard. She groaned at the pain and ran towards Hope. She jumped on her back. Lizzie’s arm choking Hope. Hope tackled Lizzie on the floor. She straddled her. Lizzie struggled as Hope grabbed her hands and pushed them down above her head. Lizzie felt her heartbeat fastening as she looked into Hope’s eyes. Both girls were now panting, tired from the fight. 

‘ I won ’ claimed Hope on top of Lizzie, still not letting go of her hands. Lizzie rolled her eyes and attempted to free herself from Hope’s grip which only made Hope’s grasp on her tightened.

‘ You cheated ’ replied Lizzie, still struggling under Hope. 

‘ You never said that we couldn’t use our power ’ declared Hope smirking. Lizzie rolled her eye and stopped her movements sighing. She hated losing. Hope finally let go of Lizzie’s hand. She put her hands on Lizzie’s shoulders preventing her from rising. She felt Lizzie’s pulse which felt like a sledgehammer, she looked at Lizzie who was already looking at her while licking her lips. Suddenly, Hope became aware of her position, she blushed and stood up. She offered her hand to Lizzie to help her stand up which she accepted. Hope pulled her a little too hard and Lizzie stumbled on Hope who steadied her by holding her waist. Needless to say that they were only a few inches away.

‘ Thank you ’ said Lizzie.

‘ What for? ’ asked Hope confused.

‘ For everything, for training with me but mostly for being my friend ’ shyly replied Lizzie. Hope immediately softened after hearing Lizzie's answer. She hugged the taller girl, resting her head against Lizzie’s collarbone. Lizzie hugged her back and melted in Hope’s embrace. No words were needed to express how much they cared about each other and both of them found peace in each other’s arms. They showered, got changed and went to the dining hall together. 

Hope sat with Penelope, not wanting to let her best friend eat alone and Lizzie sat with Mg and Josie. Lizzie immediately noticed how distracted her sister was, so she asked her what was wrong. Josie didn’t answer and changed the subject. Lizzie looked at Mg and he moved his head in the direction of Penelope. Of course, thought Lizzie, Penelope had the power to make her sister the happiest but also heartbroken. Her eyes met Hope’s ones and an idea crossed her mind. She smirked at Hope before looking back smiling at her sister. She will do something nice for her sister for once, she thought, looking at Penelope who surprisingly also looked cheerless. Once, they were done eating, the twins went back to their room as it was getting late. They entered their room and Josie directly went to sleep. Bored and tired from her practice with Hope, Lizzie went to sleep thinking about her plan to make her sister happy.

 

Earlier today, around 8 am, Penelope decided to talk to Lizzie about Hope, she wanted to make sure that Lizzie wasn’t playing some games and really wanted this friendship whit Hope so that Penelope could leave without stressing about Hope being played by the blonde. Hope had told her how much she enjoyed her new friendship with Lizzie. She was happy for her even though she didn’t share this fondness for the blonde.

Penelope walked towards the twins’ room. She knocked on the door once but the door remained closed. She knocked a second time and a third time before a sleepy Josie appeared in front of her. For a moment she forgot why she was here as she stood there admiring her ex’s cute sleepyhead. She smiled tenderly at her until she recalled the fact that she didn’t read her letter. This thought brought her back to reality and she realized that she probably woke Josie up.

‘ Sorry for waking you up, I was looking for Lizzie but she’s obviously not here.’ said Penelope already turning around not wanting to annoy Josie even more at 7 am. Before she completely left, she felt Josie touching her. She closed her eyes enjoying the feeling of Josie’s hand against her wrist. Then, she turned around and Josie pulled her into the room and closed the door. Josie let go of Penelope and made eye contact with her.

‘ I want to talk to you Penelope about-’ started Josie only to be interrupted by a happy looking Penelope.

‘ You read my letter? Is this what you want to talk about? ’ said Penelope a huge smile plastered on her face as she felt her heart beating rapidly thinking about Josie finally knowing that she still loved her and wanted to start over because she just couldn’t be as joyous as she used to be when Josie was her girlfriend or at least knowing that if Josie didn’t need her around then she would leave. Nowadays she mostly felt bitter and heartbroken. Josie felt her heart breaking as she saw how excited Penelope was thinking she read her letter when it wasn’t the case. She just couldn’t to that, yet. She couldn’t fall for Penelope’s soft and heartwarming words as she used to when she would give Josie her daily love note. She didn’t want to feel as sorrowful as she was when Penelope broke up with her.

‘ No Penelope, I haven’t read your letter. I wanted to talk to you about Mg ’ quickly said Josie watching Penelope’s cheerful face turned into a sad one. This sight broke her heart. And she wondered when did they stop feeling happy around each other, when did they start constantly breaking each other’s hearts. Penelope looked down feeling her heart breaking into pieces.

‘ Oh! Maybe we could talk about this later, I have to find Hope actually for, mhmm for some homework ’ she said walking backward and closer to the door. ‘ Another time maybe ’ said Penelope leaving the room and her heart on the floor of Josie’s room once again. She let herself shed a tear but quickly wiped it as she walked back to her room deciding that she will talk to Lizzie another time.

On the other side of the door, Josie walked back to her bed, took Penelope’s letter, looked at it only to put it back under her pillow. Deciding that it was too early to feel this heartbroken, she tried to fall back to sleep but failed to do so as Penelope’s sad face haunted her.

 

Hope heard someone knocked at her door, so she stood up, opened it and Lizzie urgently came in, closed the door and grabbed Hope’s face, she kissed her as urgently as she came in. Hope directly kissed back Lizzie with as much passion as she could. Hope’s eyes turned yellow and she pushed Lizzie against the door, the latter moaned and pulled Hope’s hair.

Hope suddenly woke up and sighed when she realized that it was just a dream. She closed her eyes trying to relive her dream. Damn, this crush ain’t going away, thought Hope. She really needed to talk about it with someone. She looked at the time on her phone, it was almost 1 am so she left her room and walked towards the kitchen. When she entered the kitchen, she noticed Lizzie sitting with some snacks on the table. Lizzie smiled at Hope existed to tell her friend about her plan.

‘ So, I have an idea and I need your help ’ announced Lizzie as soon as hope sat next to her. ' I think that we should definitely do what Mg did to us to Penelope and Josie. These two need to talk and I feel like Josie needs a little push from us to seriously talk about everything ’ added Lizzie. 

‘ Wait! You want me to help you make sure that your sister talks to Penelope. I thought you hated Penelope. ’ replied Hope, confused.

‘ I don’t like her because she broke my sister’s heart, but it seems like she’s the only one who can make her happy again. I want to do something for Josie for once.’ Truthfully answered Lizzie. 

‘ Well, I am actually happy you want to do that because Penelope has been waiting for a reason to stay as her mom wants her to go to an all witches school in Belgium and I really don’t want to lose Penelope ’ answered Hope. Lizzie was surprised to hear that. This only made her want to achieve her plan as soon as she could.

‘ How come Penelope didn’t say it to Josie, this could change everything ’ asked Lizzie, bewildered by this new information.

‘ She did actually in her letter ’ replied Hope. Everything seemed cleared to Lizzie now. 

‘ Let’s do it tomorrow after class. First I’ll make sure that Josie reads Penelope’s later and meets Penelope at the library and you make sure that Penelope is there before Josie. Okay? ’ Demanded Lizzie and Hope simply nodded, smiling fondly at Lizzie.

‘ See, you’re a good sister.’ Simply said Hope. Lizzie touched by her words hugged Hope who hugged her back.

‘ Not yet, but I am trying’ whispered Lizzie while caressing Hope’s hair which brought back pictures of Hope’s dream into her mind. Hope blushed and pulled away. She walked Lizzie to her room, kissed her goodbye as usual and walked towards her room. Hope was excited about Lizzie’s plan, she hoped it would make Penelope stay and make both of her friends happy. Lizzie fell asleep thinking about Josie smiling as brightly as she used to when she was still dating the she-devil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it, next chapter, we will get to explore Posie's relationship.


	4. Chapter 4

It was now 4 pm, the twins were in their room, Josie was on her phone while Lizzie prepared herself for her conversation with Josie about Penelope. 

‘ Have you read Penelope’s letter? ’ asked Lizzie. Josie looked up confused, since when did her twin care about anything related to Penelope. Josie shook her head and Lizzie sighed. ‘ You should do it, Josie. What if what’s in it is like super important for your future ’ added Lizzie. Josie narrowed her eyes at her. 

‘ Did you read the letter Lizzie? ’ coldly asked Josie. Lizzie shook her head. ‘ Then how could you know that what’s in it is important? ’ asked Josie.

‘ Josie just read the letter’ firmly said Lizzie looking at her twin with a serious face. 

‘ Lizzie don’t tell me what to do! I can make my own decisions, I decided not to read her letter and I surely won’t do it now’ answered Josie getting upset at her sister. ‘ Why would I even read her letter anyway and since when do you care about my love life?’ added Josie not wanting to talk about Penelope anymore. Her conversation with her yesterday has hurt her enough.

‘ Penelope is leaving Josie, that’s why I want you to read the damn letter. And you’re my sister, of course, I care about your love life and even if I don't like Penelope, I know she’s the only one that can truly make you happy. And you deserve happiness Josie’ sincerely replied Lizzie. Josie panicked and immediately took Penelope’s letter, wanting to know everything about her supposedly leaving. Watching her sister urgently opened the letter she stood up ready to leave her alone. 

‘ If you want to talk to her after reading it, you can find Penelope in the library ’ said Lizzie before leaving the room, hoping that her sister and Penelope will be able to fix their relationship. She texted Hope telling her that Josie was reading the letter and probably would be in the library in a few minutes. Hope texted her back informing her that she was in the library with Penelope. Lizzie smiled, her plan was working. Now, it was her sister’s turn to fight for what she wanted. 

Hope told Penelope to wait for here because she forgot something in her room. Penelope just nodded not really paying her attention anyway, she was daydreaming about Josie. Maybe, she should give up and leave. Maybe, Josie needed her to leave to realize that she had to stand up for herself. Penelope wouldn’t let her sacrifice herself for her sister. Josie needed to become her own person so that she will fight when the time comes.

 

My heart can’t take it and I will not wait around and watch what happens to you next. So if you don’t want to stop always putting yourself second, I’ll have to leave. I love you, JoJo. I love you with all of my obnoxious, selfish, evil heart.

Josie was in tears after reading the letter, she put it on her bed and quickly left towards the library. She couldn’t lose Penelope, everyone, everything but not her. Penelope loved her and she loved her too. It was about time that she started fighting for Penelope too. She couldn’t handle the idea of her life without her. All along she thought Penelope was selfish when in fact she was selfless, Penelope always did everything for her but Josie was to busy making sure that everyone around her was happy to realize it. And unconsciously, she put Penelope second, never giving her her full attention and always prioritizing Lizzie’s happiness. But she couldn’t blame Lizzie either, she never told her how she really felt. Lizzie was trying to become a better sister, without her she probably wouldn’t have read the letter. Now she could make things better with Penelope and she will.  
As soon as Josie hastily entered the library, Lizzie grabbed Hope’s hand, siphoned some magic and together they cast the spell.

‘ Do you think this will work? ’ asked Hope.

‘ It depends on them now, I guess we will have to wait and see but right now let’s go tell Mg about it. He’s been waiting for these two to fix their shit together ’ answered Lizzie, letting go of Hope’s hand and moving towards Mg’s room. And of course, Hope followed the blonde.

 

‘ Josie? What are you doing here’ asked Penelope standing up as Josie walked closer to her. She stopped in front of her, only a few inches separating them. Penelope noticed her red eyes, and the tears running down Josie’s face.

‘ Penelope, don’t leave ’ spoked up Josie before Penelope could have asked her ex what was wrong.

‘ So, you read my letter ’ said Penelope and Josie nodded, moved closer to her and hugged her. Penelope hugged her back immediately. They both melted in each other’s arms.

‘ Don’t leave Penelope, please I, I need you ’ said Josie sobbing in Penelope’s arms. Penelope felt tears running down her faces and she hugged Josie tighter.

‘ Will you start putting yourself first? ’ asked Penelope, ending the hug and looking into Josie’s eyes.

‘ I will, I swear I will ’ answered Josie looking directly into Penelope’s eyes trying to convey her sincerity and determination.

‘ How can I be sure that you will do it, Josie? How can I be sure that you won’t always put Lizzie first? ’ questioned Penelope, not wanting to get her hopes up just to be disappointed later.

‘ I promise you I will. Starting now, I will fight for me and for what I want ’ answered Josie. She looked down at Penelope’s lips and so did Penelope. Josie grabbed her face and kissed her. She felt alive again kissing the raven beauty, she pulled away from the kiss letting her hands on Penelope’s neck. 

‘ I love you ’ said Josie.

‘ I know’ answered Penelope smiling at Josie. Josie kissed her again with intensity until she tasted tears, she pulled away and wiped Penelope’s tears away. 

‘ Will you be mine again? ‘ asked Josie caressing Penelope’s cheek. Penelope happily nodded and kissed the love of her life again. Both girls felt on fire, all this tension between them was finally gone and now they were back together. When the kiss ended, Penelope’s forehead met Josie’s, she closed her eyes and breathed in and out. She felt relieved knowing that Josie will now fight for herself.

‘ What will Lizzie say when she finds out about us?’ Asked Penelope. Josie smiled.

‘ I am not worried about that. Lizzie is the one who told me to read your letter. She even told me where to find you’ revealed Josie, a huge smile plastered on her face thinking about Lizzie finally accepting her relationship with Penelope.

‘ Really? ’ asked Penelope, surprised, she didn’t expect this at all. She thought Lizzie hated her.

‘ Yeah, I know, I was surprised too. I mean, don’t get me wrong, she still isn’t a fan of yours but she told me that she knew that you were the only one who could make me happy ’ replied Josie. Penelope smiled, happy to know that Lizzie won’t be a problem in her relationship with her sister.   
‘Somehow, she also knew that you were planning on leaving, which isn’t the case anymore right? ’ Asked Josie. Penelope smiled and nodded. Of course, she won’t leave Josie. She will help her become the independent woman that Penelope knew she could be. 

‘ Hope probably told her ’ said Penelope while taking Josie’s hand and walking towards a couch, she was tired of standing up.

‘ They have been spending an awful amount of time together, haven’t they? ’ said Josie, thinking about how close Lizzie and Hope have gotten.

‘ They have, I never saw this friendship coming though ’ replied Penelope thinking about how much time her best friend has been spending with the other Saltzman twin. 

‘ So, do you want to go to my room and binge-watch and chill? ’ asked Penelope smirking. Josie agreed, how could she say no to Penelope’s smirk? They walked towards the door, Penelope tried to open it, but it didn’t work. She cast a spell but soon realized that it was useless. Someone cast a spell to stuck them in the room. This was probably Mg’s doing, thought Penelope thinking about that time she helped him put Lizzie and Hope in her situation.

‘ Well, it seems like we’re stuck here ’ said Penelope turning around to face Josie. 

‘ Should we call someone to help us? ’ questioned Josie.

‘ It would be useless, we just need to wait for whoever cast the spell to free us ’ replied Penelope, walking back to where she was sitting before with Josie. They spent the rest of the afternoon laughing together and catching up about everything that they missed about each other even though it wasn’t that many things, they always kept tabs on each other’s lives. They enjoyed their little afternoon stuck in the library so much that they didn’t notice the fact that they could now leave the room. Once, it was getting late, they left and went to Penelope’s room. Needless to say that Josie didn’t go back to her shared room with her sister. 

Later that night, while they were cuddling and just enjoying each other’s presence Josie mentioned the upcoming event; Miss Mystic Fall. She asked Penelope to escort her and Penelope immediately sat up, surprised. She asked her if she was going to be a contestant and Josie answered that indeed she will, reminding Penelope that she promised her that she will now fight for what she wanted even if it meant upsetting a certain tall blonde. Penelope kissed Josie trying to express how much she loved her and how much she was proud of her. Josie surely thought that her girlfriend was a little extra, however, this simple act of going for something that Lizzie has always wanted meant that perhaps Penelope won’t lose Josie because of the merge. And so, Penelope made sure to reward the other brunette. Maybe, Penelope plan A didn’t work but the second one will, she will make sure that Josie is the one winning the merge if Caroline and Alaric don’t win a cure in time.

 

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Lizzie was telling all of her plan to win Miss Mystic Fall to Hope who attentively listened, super supportive of her friend. Hope knew that winning this meant everything to her as the blond saw it as a way to get closer to her mom who she didn’t see as often as she used to when the twins were younger. Lizzie thought that maybe if she won, maybe then, she will get her mom’s attention and possibly if she’s lucky her mom will even come back to Mystic Fall. Once, she entered her room, she noticed that Josie still didn’t come back. She smiled, happy that her plan worked. As much as she disliked the devil’s incarnation for breaking her sister’s heart, she knew that her twin was happier with her. She fell asleep proud of her plan and more than ready to win that crown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hoped you enjoyed some posie. Penelope is one of my favorite characters so of course, she will play a huge role in this fic ; ). Next chapter will be Miss Mystic Fall.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the calm before the storm.

‘ I have decided to enter the competition ’ said Josie, the morning of Miss Mystic Fall, in the dining hall, while eating breakfast with her twin, Penelope, Hope, and MG.

‘ What competition? ’ Asked Lizzie, making eye contact with her sister.

‘ I want to win Miss Mystic Fall Lizzie ’ replied Josie, anxious to see her sister’s reaction. Lizzie looked down at her food before looking up at Josie and smiling.

‘ Okay, well the plan is off I guess ’ simply said Lizzie, smiling at her twin. Everyone was surprised by Lizzie’s reaction. Penelope looked curiously at Lizzie, Josie had told her that Lizzie was trying to become a better sister but she didn’t expect her to be so cool with someone thing that meant so much to Lizzie. This could change everything, thought Penelope. Hope smiled proudly at her friend.

‘ Really? ’ Asked Josie unsure.

‘ Of course, Josie, may the best win! ’ said Lizzie before dramatically clinking her glass of orange juice with Josie’s one. Josie smiled and Hope laughed at Lizzie’s action. Mg chuckled too and started joking about how he was joining the competition too. Penelope stared at Lizzie, something was wrong and she will find out soon enough, thought Penelope lost in her thought. 

Hope left and went to spare with Alaric. She didn’t feel good today so she let go of her anger and stress by sparing with him. However, something weird happened and somehow when Alaric started asking too many questions, he flew and fell on the ground pushed by Hope’s magic. Hope immediately left without noticing the curious eyes of a certain blonde. 

While she was doing her chores with Landon, a new student with who she surprisingly got along very well, probably because they both had a troubled past that haunted them, Roman showed up, her ex-boyfriend who also kidnapped her and participated in her mom’s dead. But she was over that, she reminded herself, she forgave him a while ago, it wasn’t really his fault, he was being manipulated by his mom after all. Roman informed her that he has been doing some recruiting for Alaric but he was here to help them with the pageant. Landon acted really weirdly around Roman and tried to impress him by telling him he was a phoenix. When Roman left, Landon directly asked Hope if this was her ex-boyfriend who murdered her mom. Which only upset Hope who definitely didn’t need to be reminded of her mom’s death. 

A few moments later, Lizzie called Josie and Hope but Penelope tagged along for an urgent meeting to announce them that she was withdrawing from the dance immediately.

‘ Why are you quitting? ’ asked Josie.

‘ A personal issue with one of the judges. A direct result of that bitch Dayna’s sabotage.’ Said Lizzie, dead serious.

‘ She’s dead, Lizzie ’ said Hope.

‘ Correction, that dead bitch Dayna’s sabotage costing me the crown from beyond the grave.’ Said Lizzie outraged. ‘ The head judge is her mother. There is always next year for me but it doesn’t mean that I will do nothing and give up. I am here to announce to you that you Hope Mikaelson will replace me and together we will win the crown ’ happily said Lizzie smiling at her friend. Hope was startled but still followed Lizzie out of the room and into Lizzie’s room.

‘ I am going to regret it, aren’t I?’ Said Hope watching Lizzie put down a box full of her researches and her mom’s ones. Lizzie told Hope that she was the perfect candidate before telling her more about the competition and her knowledge about it.

 

‘ They call it rehearsal but make no mistake the competition starts now’ said Lizzie looking at the judges.

Lizzie looked at her sister dancing with Penelope, she had to admit they looked good together. She then looked at Hope dancing with Landon, she rolled her eye when she saw how bad of a dancer Landon was. Landon kept annoying Hope about Roman and kept bringing up her mother’s death. Hope was getting angrier and angrier. She told him to just leave it in the past and focus on the dance. Lizzie noticed Hope starting to freak out so she interfered.

‘ Come with me.’ Said Lizzie touching Hope’s shoulder and grounding her to earth before she exploded. ‘ You stay here, do nothing’ added Lizzie glaring at Landon. Lizzie dragged Hope to the wood. 

‘ Lizzie, where are we going?’ Asked Hope.

‘ You’re a ticking time bomb. I am going to show you how to take care of it before you hurt someone ’ answered Lizzie.

‘ I am fine, okay. I just needed some air’ said Hope.

‘ You are far from fine. You are one small moment away from a meltdown. Trust me, I know the signs’ immediately responded Lizzie. Hope looked away. ‘ You know that feeling inside like a balloon constantly filling up, always on the verge of popping’ softly added Lizzie.

‘ Maybe ’ answered Hope.

‘ Well, let it pop. Scream, as loud as you can ’ said Lizzie walking behind Hope. Hope listened to Lizzie’s piece of advice and screamed loudly letting all this anger leave her body. Lizzie smiled proudly.

 

‘ You know I actually feel a lot better. I think I need to go back to my room, I need to call it a day’ said Hope.

‘ You are not dropping out on me. If I am right, which I am, our win probability is still at 87 percent even after that abysmal rehearsal. So buckle up, we’re in this until the bitter end ’ directly replied Lizzie. Hope sighed but eventually agreed and they walked back to the twin’s room. Once there, Lizzie showed Hope her mom’s dress which she will wear later tonight. Hope was mesmerized, the dress was really pretty. She tried it and Lizzie was amazed by how marvelous Hope looked wearing her mother’s dress. 

‘ Wow! You-you look amazing Hope ’ said Lizzie stuttering. Hope smiled and blushed at Lizzie's compliment. Once, they were sure that the outfit fitted Hope, Lizzie left to make sure that everything was fine.

As Lizzie walked around the school making sure that everything was ready, she crossed the devil’s path.

‘ Why did you ask Hope to replace you and not accept your failure?’ Asked Penelope as she stopped in front of Lizzie. 

‘ What do you mean? ’ asked Lizzie, rolling her eyes not wanting to waste her time talking with Penelope. 

‘ Couldn’t you just accept the fact that you lost instead of making Hope compete, knowing that it means she will compete against Josie?’ Answered Penelope.

‘ Hope needs a distraction unless you haven’t noticed she’s on the verge of having a breakdown and Roman’s presence just made it worst ’ replied Lizzie. Penelope didn’t respond, Lizzie was right Hope wasn’t okay today. She felt guilty for not realizing it sooner.

‘ Besides, Josie needs to learn to fight for what she wants, Penelope ’ added Lizzie before walking away not realizing what she just said. This definitely got Penelope’s attention. Why would Lizzie say something like that? Penelope agreed with Lizzie obviously, that’s what she has been telling Josie. But she found it weird that Lizzie would say something like that, plus, she used her name for once after a long time of calling her the devil and other pejorative nicknames, well more like insults. Could Lizzie know about the merge? No that was impossible, Penelope read in Alaric’s diary that the twins didn’t know and it didn’t seem like he was about to tell them now. Penelope sighed. If she didn’t think something was off with Lizzie before, she definitely did now. 

 

It was now the time of the dance, Penelope escorted Josie, both locked incredibly attractive. Josie was wearing a long black dress that matches Penelope’s outfit. Both of them had their hair loose. Lizzie was in the crowd watching her sister shine on the spotlight, she seemed happy walking down the stairs with Penelope. Then, it was Hope’s turn to shine. However, she noticed the brunette starting to freak out as Landon wasn’t around to escort her. Hope looked into Lizzie’s eyes and shook her head mouthing ‘ I can’t ’. She turned around to leave but Roman appeared and escorted her. He told her that it will all be over in 5 minutes. Lizzie sighed both relieved that Hope didn’t leave but also concerned about her friend’s state. 

Lizzie admired Hope dancing in her mom’s dress. Alaric appeared and stood next to his daughter. He then looked at Hope and noticed her wearing Caroline’s dress. He frowned and turned to his daughter. Hope noticed Alaric frowning while talking to Lizzie, she used her super hearing to understand why Alaric seemed so tense. She heard Lizzie calling her beautiful and saying that she should feel amazing, she smiled at the compliment. The music stopped, she stopped dancing. Everyone was waiting for the Judges to announce the winner. Still, she felt tears running down her face when she heard Alaric telling Lizzie that this dress was chosen by her father for Caroline. She heard one of the judge saying that she won but she didn’t move. Lizzie saw her freaking out and on the verge of a panic attack so she ran towards Hope and hugged her.

‘ Congratulation! It’s okay, just let it out, the real way, the way you’ve needed all along ’ said Lizzie and Hope hugged her tighter while sobbing and letting it out. Lizzie felt her heart breaking, this was the first time she ever saw Hope crying. They hugged many times, but this one, this one meant everything to Hope.

Penelope stood in the crowd watching her best friend being comforted by Lizzie. She saw how Lizzie directly ran to help Hope. Maybe, the blonde was really trying to better herself. She felt bad for all the time she judged her without knowing her. Josie’s codependency problem with Lizzie wasn’t just Lizzie’s fault, it also was Josie’s. All this time, she has been blinding by her love for Josie. She couldn’t let Lizzie die because of the merge. She needed to find a solution not only for Josie but for her twin too. Penelope watched Hope leaving with Lizzie after taking her crown and thought that maybe it was time she tried to get along with the blonde. She looked down at Josie and kissed her forehead. 

Then, they also left and spent the rest of the night in Penelope’s room. Josie was a little sad after losing but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t happy either. She was proud of herself for chasing what she wanted. Moreover, Penelope was hers and she spent an amazing night dancing with her and having fun. She still couldn’t believe that Penelope loved her, she thought that the raven-haired girl hated her, how wrong she was. She fell asleep happy in Penelope’s arms, unlike Penelope who spent most of the night staring at the ceiling thinking about everything, the merge, Lizzie, Alaric, and even Caroline. She met her once last year when she was dating Josie, she loved her strong and fierce personality. Maybe, she shouldn’t work alone. Maybe, with Caroline’s help, she would be able to find a cure. She looked at Josie who was peacefully and blissfully sleeping not aware of her tragic future, a smile plastered on her face. A tear ran down her eye, the thought of losing Josie was too much. She couldn’t do it alone. Tomorrow, she’ll find a plan but now, she needed to rest. 

‘ I love you, JoJo. I won’t lose you again ’ whispered Penelope before cuddling closer to Josie and falling asleep.

 

Meanwhile, Lizzie was in Hope’s room, they were talking about everything that happened today.

‘ I thought I could keep it all together. I worked so hard to move on from all the things that have happened to me in my life but everyone was right. Everyone’s been right, I needed to like let it all out. ’ Revealed Hope. ‘ How did you know what do say? How did you know what to do? ’ Asked Hope staring at Lizzie.

‘ It’s just what Josie had done for me thousand times ’ answered Lizzie. 

‘ Thank you for today Lizzie ’ said Hope as sincerely as she could wanting to show the other girl how grateful she was. 

‘ It’s nothing. You would have done the same for me ’ replied Lizzie smiling at Hope. ‘ Let’s make a deal ’ added Lizzie and Hope nodded. ‘ I’ve got your back and you’ve got mine ’ said Lizzie, moving her pinky towards Hope. ‘ Always and forever ’ said Hope smiling back at the blonde as she intertwined her pinky with Lizzie’s. Lizzie stood up and sat next to Hope on her bed. Hope rested her head against Lizzie’s shoulder. They enjoyed the silence and the peace that it brought after a day full of humans walking around their school.

‘ Stay here tonight, please ’ whispered Hope looking up at Lizzie. Lizzie stared into Hope’s eyes and saw how vulnerable the girl was so of course she agreed. Hope loaned Lizzie one of her pajamas for the night. They were a little too small for Lizzie but Hope thought she looked cute in her clothes. They stayed up all night binge-watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine and eating some snacks until Hope’s laptop died. They looked at the time and saw that it was 1 am. Judging that they ate enough unhealthy food, they decided to just go to sleep. Lizzie lied under the cover trying to sleep but Hope just kept on moving. 

‘ Hope stop moving ’ complained Lizzie, tired from this day.

‘ I can’t find a comfortable position, it’s not my fault, I am not used to sharing my bed ’ said Hope turning around to face Lizzie.

‘ I don’t want to disturb your sleep, should I go back to my room? ’ asked Lizzie worried about her disturbing her. 

‘ No, stay ’ firmly answered Hope before turning around to go back to sleep. Lizzie moved too, getting closer to Hope and cuddling her.

‘ Goodnight Hope ’ said Lizzie, closing her eyes and immediately falling asleep. Hope smiled and finally drifted off to sleep. This time, Hope didn’t have any nightmares.

 

The following morning, Lizzie woke up before Hope. She felt Hope’s arms around her waist and smile, she felt safe and incredibly happy this morning. She turned around and saw Hope still asleep. She looked at her face and just admired her beauty from so close. Hope was for sure a sight for sore eyes. She moved her hand and started playing with Hope’s soft hair and thinking about the tribid. 

Even before they became friends, Hope has always managed to cross her mind which always irritated her. She used to tell herself that It was because she hated her because she was stealing her father away from her. But now, now she knew better and she couldn’t lie to herself. Hope was hot and cute and caring and smart and well, probably the most powerful being on earth. Besides Lizzie has always wanted to be part of a power couple. So really, whose fault was it if Lizzie had a crush on the brunette. However, she was afraid that maybe this new found attraction to Hope was because as Josie said, she always went after Josie’s crush and she definitely didn’t want to mess with Hope if it was just her brain playing mind games with her feelings. 

Hope contently sighed and moved closer to Lizzie. Lizzie stopped playing with Hope’s hair, not wanting to wake her up after the night that she has. She looked down at Hope and smiled, the girl looked so happy and peaceful yet Hope never had it easy in life, from her dad staying away from her, her family dying and now having to constantly fight monsters, it surely was exhausting. Looking at her, she realized how happy Hope has made her recently. She still couldn’t believe that she went from literally wishing that Hope was dead to crushing hard on her and really enjoying her presence. 

Hope got closer to her and rested her head on Lizzie’s chest. Lizzie could feel how fast her heart was beating. She blushed at their proximity and thought that she definitely needed to talk about this with Mg. She got comfortable and decided to go back to sleep wanting to extend this moment away from the rest of the world. 

She slept a bit more before she woke up again, she turned around excepting to find Hope but no one was there. Oh, did Hope left her alone, thought Lizzie. She sat up and looked around the room but Hope really wasn’t here. She got up and wore her outfit from last night to go back to her room and properly get ready for the day. Disappointed from Hope leaving her behind, she made her way towards the door to get out but as she was about to open it Hope entered with two food trays. Noticing that Lizzie was dressed and ready to leave, she frowned.

‘ Hey, were you leaving? ’ asked Hope closing the door and setting the food trays on her desk.

‘ Yeah, I thought you left so I didn’t see the point of staying in your room ’ answered Lizzie looking down.

‘ No, I woke up and you were still asleep and since we felt so late yesterday I didn’t want to wake you up so I went to get us some breakfast ’ replied Hope and Lizzie smiled relieved that the tribid didn’t abandon her. She looked up at Hope, the brunette smiled brightly when she noticed Lizzie’s smile and pulled the blonde towards her desk so that they could eat their breakfasts. Once they were seated, they started eating. One of the reasons why Hope brought their breakfast in her room instead of simply eating in the dining hall was because she didn’t feel like being surrounded by everyone who saw her cry last night and she really enjoyed the blonde’s presence.

After eating, Hope suddenly stood up and grabbed the crown that she won yesterday. She pushed Lizzie in front of the mirror before putting the crown that she won yesterday on Lizzie’s head. Lizzie smiled while looking at herself wearing the crown of her dreams. Through the mirror, she met Hope’s ocean eyes and her smile widen. She turned around, took Hope’s crown and put it on Hope’s head. She walked behind Hope and sorted her hair and finally resting her hands on the tribid’s shoulders.

‘ The crown suits you ’ said Lizzie smiling at Hope while making eye contact with her.

‘ It looks better on you ’ replied Hope. 

‘ Well, I can’t deny the obvious ’ said Lizzie chuckling. ‘ But you’re Miss Mystic fall now ’ added Lizzie. Hope looked at herself, finally enjoying her victory which she didn’t really have the time to do while dealing with her emotions. 

‘ By the way, I am sorry for yesterday. I really didn’t know that your father chose it ’ said Lizzie as if reading her mind. Hope sadly smiled at her.

‘ It’s okay, don’t worry ’ replied Hope turning around facing Lizzie. Lizzie let go of Hope’s shoulder.

‘ And obviously, you can keep the dress ’ added Lizzie. Hope nodded and smiled at her before whispering a thank you. ‘ I am sure your parents would be proud of the woman that you now are. I know that I am ’ claimed Lizzie and that was all it took for Hope’s eyes to fill up with tears. Noticing this, Lizzie directly hugged the tribid trying to comfort her, feeling her heart break each time she heard Hope sobbing. Lizzie spent the following hour trying to make Hope laugh and distract her as much as she could until Hope got a text from Alaric informing her that he was expecting her in his office as soon as possible. Therefore, Hope walked Lizzie to her room before joining Alaric.

Lizzie entered her room, showered and texted Mg asking him if she could come to hang out in his room. Mg agreed and Lizzie left her room. As she was walking, suddenly she felt someone grabbing her and pushing her in a closet as she was about to fight and screamed, her kidnapper spoke up.

‘ Don’t speak, don’t move ’ said Hope whispering and holding Lizzie to prevent her from moving. Lizzie nodded and decided to trust Hope and listen to what she said. They were in a dark closet, Lizzie’s back was against Hope’s front as she maintained her still. Hope whispered a spell to make them invincible. Lizzie held her breath as she felt Hope’s hot breath hitting her neck which gave her goosebumps. Lizzie was drowning in Hope’s perfume, Hope’s hands holding her and Hope’s closeness. Lizzie was a heartbeat away from caving to her desire and kiss Hope.

However, as this thought crossed her mind, she heard someone’s steps getting closer and closer. The steps stopped right in front of the closet, she heard someone touching the door handle. She closed her eyes and subconsciously leaned into Hope’s body. The door opened and Lizzie opened her eyes only to found Penelope Park standing in front of her. 

‘ Bitch ’ said Lizzie who thought she was about to be attacked by some kind of weird monster from some of Mg’s comic.

‘ Lizzie? ’ Asked Penelope, clearly recognizing Lizzie’s voice but not seeing her. Hope made them visible again and Penelope arched an eyebrow at the sight in front of her; Lizzie in Hope’s in a dark closet. 

‘ Am I interrupting something here? ’ asked Penelope, a smirk on her face. Lizzie rolled her eyes as she got out of the closet, not noticing Hope blushing and Penelope sending a look at her best friend in a way that certainly meant they will talk about this later. 

While Penelope and Hope were bickering, Lizzie noticed a walking gargoyle walking closer to them. Lizzie called them to get their attention but they were to busy glaring at each other to notice her. So, Lizzie siphoned magic from the wall and threw a spell towards the gargoyle which only pushed him away and loudly grunted, clearly upset. 

This definitely drew Penelope’s and Hope’s attention. Lizzie used another defensive spell to push him away, she didn’t know any offensive spells because of her father's rules. As Hope was about to throw a spell, Lizzie magically created a hammer, ran towards him and hit his arm. Lizzie smirk proud of herself as the gargoyle stumble backward. 

However, before she could have realized it, the gargoyle stabbed her stomach. Lizzie touched her stomach and saw her blood on her hands. As she was about to faint, Hope caught her meanwhile Penelope killed the gargoyle using the ‘ fluctus impulsa ’ spell. The last thing Lizzie saw was Hope’s worried face before darkness took over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope yall don't hate me :)


	6. Chapter 6

Hope stayed with Lizzie trying to stop her from bleeding even more while Penelope went looking for an adult. Hope was completely freaking out, she couldn’t lose Lizzie, not someone else that she cared about. Her eye got teary as she looked at Lizzie’s closed eyes. At least, Hope still heard Lizzie’s pulse. She felt her insecurities rose as she realized that everyone she cared about and loved always ended up dead just like her father, her mother and so many more. She started sobbing and losing hope everything passing seconds.

 

When Emma appeared with Penelope and quickly healed Lizzie’s wound with some magic. Hope lost focus, she did everything Emma asked her but she wasn’t fully aware of what was going on. All of this was happening so fast. She blinked and was now in the nursery, sitting in a chair looking at her shaking hands covered in Lizzie’s blood while Penelope left to tell Josie and Alaric about Lizzie’s state. Thinking about the blonde, the tribid looked up and saw Lizzie lying on the nursery’s bed. If she didn’t know better, she would assume that Lizzie was just sleeping but she did know better, Lizzie was in a coma and this time, magic couldn’t fix this. 

 

Emma walked in, checked on Lizzie before touching Hope’s shoulder and telling her that she should leave and get some rest. Hope didn’t want to leave, too afraid that something awful would happen to the blonde but Emma was right, she needed to shower. Besides, Josie and Alaric would probably be here anytime and surely, they’ll want to be left alone with Lizzie. 

 

She showered and got dressed in the pajamas that Lizzie wore when she slept over the previous night. Her sheets smelled like Lizzie and she hugged Lizzie’s pillow before eventually falling asleep crying. Hope was constantly losing the people she loved. Somehow, she thought that it was all her fault.

 

Meanwhile, Josie entered the nursery and instantly sobbed when she spotted her unconscious sister. Alaric hugged his daughter while silently crying. How could this happen in the Salvatore school when he built it to protect his daughters. Kaleb was right all along, he should have allowed them to learn about offensive magic, maybe then Lizzie wouldn’t be in a coma right now. He dried his face, Josie lied next to her sister and carefully cuddled her. Alaric excused himself and told Josie that he was going to call Caroline to inform her about Lizzie. 

 

Once he entered his office, he closed the door and called Caroline who declared that she will be back in Mystic Fall by dawn. Alaric got a photo album and a bottle of alcohol and directly drank from the bottle while looking at the pictures of Lizzie with Josie as kids. The more he drank, the more he regretted not spending enough time with his daughters. He knew that the girls wanted to spend more time with him and Caroline yet he always put the school first, especially nowadays since monsters threatened his students’ safety. He was always too focused on protecting them fearing a tragic future that he forgot to actually enjoy the present. He never thought that he could lose his precious daughters before they turned twenty-two. And even if he knew about the merge, he couldn’t fathom the idea of losing a daughter but now, it wasn’t just a possibility but a reality. This was all his fault, he thought, before falling asleep drunk on his desk. 

 

Caroline who was in Germany, looking for witches who perhaps knew something about the merge, compelled a pilot to fly a private plane toward the closest airport to Mystic Fall. While being in the air, she couldn’t stop herself from thinking about her conversation with Alaric. Lizzie was in a coma, her beloved daughter was in a coma. It seemed unbelievable, they were supposed to be safe in this school with their father protecting them. For a moment, she wanted to blame Alaric but she couldn’t. She had failed them as much as he did. She wasn’t there to protect them. Even if she had a good reason, after all, she was traveling all around the globe trying to prevent her daughters’ lethal fates. She took her phone and noticed an unread message from Lizzie from yesterday. She opened it and straight after reading it she started violently shaking and crying in her seat. ‘ I miss you, mom. xo’. 

 

Josie spent the night cuddling Lizzie’s senseless body. Her eyes blood red from crying. She used a spell in order to always hear Lizzie’s pulse, too afraid that Lizzie’s heart would stop beating anytime. As she laid next to her dear twin, she thought about her relationship with her. Recently, things were better between them. Since they talked about their codependency problem, Josie has been voicing what she wanted, Lizzie has been encouraging her to do so and letting her sister shine. She let her sing at the talent show as soon as Josie admitted she wanted to sing and she didn’t complain when Josie announced that she will compete against Lizzie. They both grew so much since their birthdays. Josie stared at Lizzie’s eyelids hoping to see her sister’s ocean eyes which always reminded her of her mother’s eyes. Lizzie, just like her mother when she was younger, acted like a stone cold bitch to others but Josie knew how soft and caring Lizzie really was. Lizzie always tried to protect Josie from the world and maybe that was why, for so long, Josie let herself hide behind Lizzie’s shadow. 

 

Josie turned around and noticed that Penelope fell asleep on a chair in the corner of the room. As she was about to fall into Morpheus’ arms, Josie finally understood Penelope’s and Lizzie's points of view. Lizzie hated Penelope because she broke Josie’s heart and Penelope hated Lizzie because she thought that she was preventing Josie from being her own person. Both girls loved Josie and Josie certainly wasn’t about to lose her sister now that she was happy, Penelope was finally her girlfriend and her relationship with Lizzie was great. Lizzie will wake up soon, they still needed each other, regardless of their codependency problem.

 

A week has passed since the accident, Lizzie was still in a coma and Penelope came to the conclusion that life without Lizzie sucked. Before this week, Penelope didn’t realize how Lizzie was somehow connected to everyone, so not having her around changed the whole school’s atmosphere. 

 

Alaric who couldn’t distract himself with monsters because ever since the gargoyle, no monster appeared, as if they were mourning Lizzie’s state too, so he spent most of his time in his office drinking. Whenever he visited Lizzie, he only stayed a few minutes, he couldn’t stand seeing his daughter like that.

 

Caroline usually was in Lizzie’s room, looking over her little angel. She put a brave face for Josie’s sake but as soon as she was alone with Lizzie, she couldn’t hold back her tears. Choosing to believe that Lizzie will wake up, she kept looking for information about the merge by reading as many new books from New Orleans about the Gemini Coven. 

 

As for Josie, she still went to school, not missing any of her classes, however, she was better off staying with Lizzie which was where her mind was most of the time anyway. She didn’t pay attention to her teachers and only listened to Lizzie’s pulse which was the only thing preventing her from losing her shit. After her classes, she joined her mother in Lizzie’s room, well, in the nursery. She stayed there until she was tired, then, she would leave with her mom who would go check on Alaric while she would directly go to Penelope’s room and sleep in her arms. It had become her routine.

 

Penelope was doing her best to distract Josie and support her but nothing changed her mood. So she decided that perhaps all that Josie needed was love, so every night she held Josie as close as she could and whenever they were together, Penelope would hold her hand and simply be there for her. 

 

During breakfast, launch, and dinner, the group of friends still ate together but everyone stayed in a deafening silence. Hope always left as soon as she was done eating. Josie just ate her food silently following her new routine, she had become a walking zombie. Even Landon and Rafael who were barely friends with Lizzie didn’t talk. Penelope had no one to insult back and bicker with. Mg didn’t make any jokes, he didn’t mention any of his comics and stopped smiling ever since Penelope told him about Lizzie that damn night. Kaleb just stayed there, worried about Mg and all of his friends’ mood. They used to have so much fun at the dining hall but now, the sound of the other students laughing and enjoying their times was irritating. 

 

That day, Mg had waited so long for Lizzie to come over and spill some tea but she never did so he went looking for her. However, all he found was a melancholic Penelope pacing back and forth in the corridor in front of the nursery. When Penelope told him, he didn’t want to believe it but he couldn’t deny it anymore once he entered the room and promptly noticed Lizzie’s body. He met Josie’s red eyes, ran towards her and they hugged while tears ran down their faces. Mg, Josie and Lizzie were basically a little family, they grew up together and were one kind of a trio with the funny and nerdy Mg, the shy and sweet Josie and Lizzie who would fight anyone who dares mess with her friends. But now, they were only two and both of them felt lost without the third part of their trio.

 

Penelope tried to help her friends, she really did. She bought Mg a new comic every day and put it on his bed so that he could enjoy something, even if it were just for a few moments. It didn’t work anyway. Lizzie waking up was the only way for them to be happy again. Even if Penelope didn’t want to admit it, she was getting super worried about Lizzie, it had been a week and her state hadn’t changed. 

 

As regard of Hope, well she tried to be there for the tribid but the latter just spent her times wolfing out in the woods. Every time Penelope mentioned Lizzie, Hope would change the topic of the conversation. If Penelope weren’t aware of the fact that Hope spent her nights with Lizzie in the nursery, she would have assumed that the tribid simply didn’t care. But Penelope knew what Hope was doing, after all, she was her best friend. Hope has always feared losing people which was completely understandable with her awful past and now, that she might lose Lizzie too, she was slowly distancing herself from everyone. Hope was blaming herself which made no sense to Penelope. Nevertheless, Penelope knew that this probably triggered Hope who lost her dad, her uncle, and her mom. Plus, she was holding Lizzie as the blonde was bleeding and fell into a coma. Hope needed to talk to Emma. 

 

Penelope decided to skip her last class of the day and pay a visit to Lizzie, no one should be in the nursery at this time. She entered the room and sat on the chair next to Lizzie. She glanced at the blonde twin who looked so young and calm, Penelope felt her heartbreaking. She wondered if she would ever be able to finally have that talk with Lizzie or if she would regret not having this conversation for the rest of her life. She shook her head at this thought, Lizzie had to wake up. She couldn’t accept Lizzie’s absence becoming permanent. She never thought that she would ever want Lizzie to call her some kind of twisted nickname but here she was. 

 

Somewhere in the woods, Hope turned back into her human form and so did Rafael with who she was running around in the woods with. Rafael and she had a pretty great friendship, she got her back and he got hers. At first, it was kind of weird between them as Rafael had a crush on her but he quickly moved on when the tribid nicely rejected him. Ever since, they hung out after school in the woods, fully embracing their wolf sides. The thing with Rafael and Hope was that they both had a lot of anger aimed at themselves. Rafael for killing his girlfriend and Hope for many reasons involving her family and well, death. 

 

Rafael had noticed how tense the girl had been lately and it wasn’t that hard to connect the dots. Besides, he wasn’t blind, he had quickly remarked how Hope and Lizzie rapidly grew closer and closer until they spent most of their times together. Rafael knew that Hope had started having feelings for the blonde. He didn’t show it but the werewolf paid a lot of attention to the ones he cared about. And so, even if the tribid never admitted it, he truly believed that Hope liked Lizzie and that Lizzie did too. He had seen the huge smiles whenever they made eye contact, the holding hands on any given occasion, the cheek kisses that always lingered a little too long to just be just friendly and finally, he had seen that look in their eyes when the other wasn’t looking, the look he used to give to his girlfriend, a look that carried admiration, tenderness, care, and desire. Perhaps even love.

 

Usually, when Hope didn’t feel like talking, Rafael would just let it go but this time he didn’t so he decided to be straightforward and asked her what he had been knowing for a certain time as they walked back toward the Salvatore school.

 

‘ So, when did you realized you liked Lizzie? ’ asked Rafael. Hope stopped walking and Rafael turned around facing the smaller girl.

 

‘ This isn’t the time to ask this kind of questions.’ Stated Hoped firmly, slightly staring at the werewolf.

 

‘ You can’t keep denying it Hope ’ replied Rafael. Hope was getting annoyed, she rolled her eyes and simply ignored him.

 

‘ Come on Hope. Lizzie- ’ started saying Rafael before Hope interrupted him.

 

‘ Don’t say her name ’ said Hope glaring at him, trying to remain calm.

 

‘ She’s not dead Hope and-’ replied Rafael before being again interrupted by the tribid.

 

‘ But she might be!! And this is all because of me ’ snapped Hope raising her voice. Rafael opened his mouth to speak but closed it and moved closer to Hope, putting his hands on her shoulders.

 

‘ This is not your fault, Hope. Literally, how could you blame yourself for this?’ Asked Rafael concerned, staring into Hope’s eyes in search of an answer. Hope looked down at the ground before looking up into Rafael’s eyes.

 

‘ I was too busy joking with Penelope to notice the gargoyle attacking Lizzie until it was too late ’ replied Hope, frowning.

 

‘ Hope look at me ’ softly demanded Rafael. Once Hope did so, he spoke up again ‘ It wasn’t your fault, okay? I know that you don’t see it right now but it wasn’t. Don’t go down that path, not every bad thing that happens is because of you. I know that you feel like this because of your past but don’t let it ruin your present. I have noticed the way you have been distancing yourself. You barely speak with Penelope, your supposed best friend even though she tried many times this week. And don’t get me wrong, Lizzie’s state impacted all of us but trust me she will wake up and soon enough everything will go back to the way it was.’ Hope didn’t know what to answer as she was still processing everything that Rafael had just said so she just nodded. Rafael hugged her and she gladly hugged him back, slightly letting go of her stress and anger.

 

‘ She likes you too, you know ’ added Rafael. Hope smiled for the first time this week. Rafael was a good friend but she craved some alone time so she told him that she’ll be back later and so he left hoping that he didn’t push his friend too much. 

 

Hope walked around the wood, thinking about Rafael’s speech. She wanted to believe him, she really wanted to but she couldn’t. History always repeats itself and everything that she had touched, ended up dead. Even if Lizzie wakes up, which she will, she had to, thought Hope, she wouldn’t get close to her again. Her family never had it easy with love. Both her parents lost someone they loved, she wasn’t about to lose Lizzie. She could handle not being around her but she couldn’t handle a world without the blonde. She got a taste of it this week and it was dreadful.

 

She looked around and realized that she was at the same spot where Lizzie told her to scream, to let it all out. And so Hope decided that perhaps, she should listen to Lizzie’s advice.

 

Magically, as Hope yelled her pain away, Lizzie in the nursery opened her eyes, a troubled expression plastered on her face as if Hope’s scream was her wake-up call.


	7. Chapter 7

Lizzie sat up and Penelope rushed toward her.

 

‘ I am so sorry Penelope, I am so sorry, this is all my fault- ’ said a crying Lizzie who seemed on the verge of an episode. 

 

‘ What are you talking about Lizzie? ’ Asked Penelope quickly, interrupting her. 

 

‘ Josie, I killed her. I am sorry. I swear I don’t know what happened, I don’t even remember it. It wasn’t me, I freaked out and ’ said Lizzie sobbing and stuttering. ‘ I am so sorry ’ she whispered again. 

 

As Penelope was about to reply, the door opened and a worried Josie walked in who had immediately left her class when she heard Lizzie’s pulse fastening. Seeing her sister’s state, she ran toward her and hugged her. Lizzie directly hugged her back. Josie whispered a spell that rapidly calmed Lizzie down. Lizzie breathed in and out and once she stopped crying, she pulled away from her twin.

 

‘ I thought you were dead Josie ’ said a teary blonde.

 

‘ I am the one who thought I was going to lose you, Lizzie. You have been in a coma for a week ’ said Josie tearing up and hugging her sister again. 

 

Lizzie relaxed in her sister’s embrace and thought about what Josie said. She was in a coma, that meant that was she saw was all a dream, it was just her subconscious messing with her, right. But everything felt so real as if she relived an old memory. The jinni did mention that she would forget everything so if this were true, how come she remembered it, maybe her near-death experience trigger this unlocked part of her brain. Now that she thought about it, she couldn’t explain how suddenly she wanted to become a better sister and how Hope always haunted her thoughts. This made sense and if this were true, then, it only meant one thing, the merge, whatever that was, was real and at some point, she will end up killing Josie. At least that was what happened in an alternative universe. At that moment, with Josie in her arms, she promised herself that when the time comes, she will do everything to make sure that Josie was the strongest. But right now, all that she wanted was some time with her family. 

 

Penelope left the room, giving the girls some privacy after they hugged for the second time, she informed everyone that Lizzie woke up and as soon as the words left her mouth, they promptly left to see it with their own eyes. Well, she told everyone but Hope, she couldn’t find her so she texted her the news. Penelope went to her room, she knew that Josie would spend the night in her room with Lizzie. She thought about what the blonde said as she woke up from her coma. That was definitely weird, the way that she reacted, how hurt she seemed to be and her saying that she killed Josie. This immediately made her think of the merge but it was impossible that Lizzie knew. She probably just had a nightmare, thought the brunette reassuring herself that the twins didn’t know about the merge. Penelope fell asleep, hoping that everything will go back to the way it was one week ago, she was tired of seeing everyone sorrowful.

 

Meanwhile, Lizzie was happily chatting with her friends and family in the dining hall, eating some food because she was famished. She looked at the people sitting around the table and grinned. She never realized how lucky she was to have these people in her life. She looked at her left and noticed Mg smiling and laughing with her sister who almost choked on her food because of Mg’s jokes. In front of them were Landon and Rafael who were too busy devouring their plates to notice her low-key judging the way they were eating. At her right were her parents, Alaric was attentively listening to Caroline talking about the amazing European cities she visited. Everyone she cared about was here, well, except Hope and Pedro. Her sister explained earlier that they told Pedro that she was paying a visit to some relative in order to protect Pedro from hurting. Everyone knew that Pedro really loved Lizzie and that they shared a special connection so they told him a white lie. Lizzie was grateful that Pedro wasn’t aware of her state, the last thing that she wanted was Pedro being sad. As regards of Hope, no one knew where she was so she intended to see her after she was done eating. 

 

As planned, once everyone was ready to go to their dorms and sleep, she told her sister that she should sleep with Penelope as she was going to see Hope and probably spent a while there before going to bed. Josie agreed, knowing how close Lizzie and Hope had gotten. 

 

However, as she walked by the library, her curiosity took over and she decided to search for information about jinnis and their power. After an hour, she realized that what was her ‘dream’ was indeed an ‘old memory’ from her encounter with a jinni as she had the same ‘symptoms’. Now, she was certain that whatever that merge thing was, one of them wouldn’t make it alive. As she was about to start searching for what was the merge, she yawned and decided to call it a night.

 

She stopped in front of Hope’s door and knocked twice. A sleepy Hope opened the door, her eyes wide opened as she saw who stood in front of her.

 

‘ Lizzie? ’ asked Hope unsure whether this was real or if it was just one of her dreams about the tall blonde. 

 

‘ Long time no see ’ answered Lizzie jokingly, a magnificent smile plastered on her face. Seeing the tribid always had this impact on her mood. Hope always made Lizzie forget about her problems.

 

Hope opened her mouth to say something but closed it and pulled Lizzie inside her room. She closed the door of her dorm and turned towards Lizzie. Before Lizzie could react, Hope hugged her as if her life depended on it. Lizzie bent her knees and rested her head in Hope’s neck. She melted into Hope’s embrace and Hope felt like she could finally breathe. Without realizing it, tears began to pour from her eyes. She had missed her so much and was so worried that she might have lost Lizzie that this moment felt dreamlike. When Lizzie noticed it, she pulled away and wiped her tears away before hugging her again. 

 

‘ I thought I had lost you ’ whispered the tribid in a shaky voice. Lizzie shook her head before hugging the girl as tight as she could. This time, Hope was the one to pull away and she opened one of her desk drawers. She grabbed something and sat on her bed before telling Lizzie to sat next to her. She grabbed Lizzie’s left hand and attached a blue bracelet on her hand with a red diamond in the middle. Lizzie was mesmerized by the bracelet, it was splendid.

 

‘ The diamond is magic, it’s connected to me, well my magic. Whenever you need to siphon some magic, you just have to touch the diamond and you will directly siphon my power, even if I am not around ’ said Hope looking into Lizzie’s eyes. Lizzie was speechless, this was so thoughtful but she couldn’t accept, what if she siphoned too much magic that it hurts Hope.

 

‘ I - I can’t accept it Hope, what if I siphon too much magic and I hurt you and- ’ started the blonde before being interrupted by the brunette.

 

‘ My source of magic is endless, Lizzie. Come on, I am a tribid after all, weren’t you the one saying that I was probably the most powerful being on earth ’ replied Hope, smirking and then smiling at the caring girl. Lizzie rolled her eyes at Hope’s smug face before grinning back at the tribid.

 

‘ Can I try it? ’ shyly asked Lizzie. Hope nodded. Lizzie touched the red diamond and felt magic running through her veins. She closed her eyes, enjoying this feeling, siphoning magic from Hope always made her feel so compelling and all-powerful. Hope smiled, happy that it worked and that Lizzie seemed to like her present. Lizzie opened her eyes and let go of the diamond, she felt so energetic right now. Wanting to enjoy her new found power, she whispered a spell and suddenly, both girls were surrounded by the starry sky.

 

‘ Thank you, Hope ’ said Lizzie, kissing Hope’s cheek before laying on Hope’s bed. Hope slightly blushed at the action and laid next to the blonde who didn’t notice Hope’s rosy cheeks. The tribid held Lizzie’s hand as they both looked up at the sky. 

 

They spent the rest of the night talking and enjoying each other’s presence. Hope had to admit that she will miss these amazing and peaceful moments with Lizzie, she will miss her smile, her jokes and well everything about the blonde. But she knew that she had to let go of the twin for Lizzie’ s own good. One thing Hope never was, was selfish and she wasn’t about to start now, even if she craved Lizzie's presence. Little did she know that Lizzie relished this moment as if it were her last with Hope, knowing that sooner than later, she will have to slowly distance herself from everyone she loved in order to reduce their pain once Lizzie will do her last act of selflessness for her sister’s sake. 

 

Both girls fell asleep, enjoying this instant where they didn’t have to worry about their tragic destinies. Hope fell asleep thinking that even she had to let go of Lizzie, at least, they will still be connected by the bracelet. 

 

The following morning, when Lizzie woke up, Hope was long gone. This time, Lizzie didn’t let herself feel disappointed as she knew that today was a new beginning for the best or the worst. 

 

And so the young woman went on with her day. She had a few days off to rest before going back to school. Therefore, she decided to search for what the Merge was. For a moment, she thought about asking her father but changed her mind, what if he didn’t know? She didn’t want to worry him. She spent her morning searching about the merge but every time she found a book that tackled this topic, some pages were missing, this was weird and made absolutely no sense. Who would want to hide information about the merge? Could it be her father, after all, he would have bought those books again if someone had ripped some pages? 

 

Meanwhile, Penelope walked into the library and quickly noticed the blonde next to a table full of books. She silently got closer trying to see what the girl was searching for. Once Lizzie left to search for other books, she approached the table and saw books that she had read before, books about the merge. She felt herself panicking inside, why was Lizzie doing with those books? Well, Penelope was about to get her answer.

 

‘ She-Devil ’ said Lizzie greeting Penelope.

 

‘ I thought we were over those insults, how sad’ replied Penelope, putting her hand over her chest, pretending to be hurt by the tall girl. Lizzie rolled her eyes. 

 

‘ So what are you doing, Saltzman?’ Asked Penelope, deciding to play the innocent.

 

‘ Nothing that concerns you, Park ’ dryly answered Lizzie. Penelope grabbed a book and pretended to look through it while thinking about if she should try to be honest with her and see where the conversation goes. 

 

‘ Lizzie, can we talk please?’ Asked Penelope. Lizzie raised an eyebrow and looked curiously at Penelope. 

 

‘ Of course ’ agreed Lizzie, noticing how genuine the brunette sounded. 

 

‘ Could you explain what you were talking about yesterday when you woke up from the coma? ‘ asked Penelope concerned. 

 

‘ It was nothing, don’t worry ’ answered Lizzie looking back.

 

‘ Hey, Lizzie. Don’t lie to me. I know that we never really got along in the past but one thing we can agree on is that we both want the best for Josie. So please, tell me, why did you tell me that you killed Josie ’ said Penelope making eye contact with Lizzie. Lizzie sighed, maybe she should tell Penelope about what she learned after all the brunette was right, they both cared and loved Josie. 

 

‘ During my coma, I kinda had a sort of vision, well more like I remembered a forgotten memory. But anyway, that memory was about my encounter with a jinni, she granted me three wishes and I spent all of them trying to get rid of Hope. In one of the alternative universe where Hope was never born, I killed Josie when I had an episode because of something called the merge. I am not one hundred percent sure what this is but from what I have gathered it’s some kind of ritual connected to my coven which will cause either Josie’s death or mine ’ truthfully answered Lizzie, it hit her how serious all of this was as she said all of this aloud. Penelope stayed silent, surprised that the girl knew that much about the merge. 

 

‘ How about we talk about this in my room, I guess I have to share some stuff with you too’ said Penelope before standing up. Lizzie followed her and they walked in silence. People started to whisper as soon as they notice Lizzie walking next to her enemy, Penelope who she had been publicly insulting. Besides, Penelope never hid how much Lizzie annoyed her so this was definitely worth gossiping about, at least it was for some bored teenagers.

 

Once they got inside, Lizzie sat on a chair and Penelope went looking for something. 

 

‘ Where is Josie?’ Asked Lizzie.

 

‘ In class ’ simply answered Penelope.

 

‘ Why aren’t you?’ asked Lizzie.

 

‘ Hell would turn cold without the devil, wouldn’t it? ’ Jokingly replied Penelope, her usual smirk plastered on her face. Lizzie rolled her eyes and tried to hide her smile but failed as Penelope turned her back to the blonde gathering what she was looking for.

 

‘ This is everything I know about the merge ’ said Penelope handing Lizzie a journal. Lizzie took it and curiously opened it and started reading it. Penelope remained silent, letting the girl took the information in while she was hoping that she made the good decision and it wouldn’t backfire. Eventually, Lizzie would have found everything about the merge so might as well make it easier for her. Penelope was watching her face trying to see her emotions through her face as she learned more and more about the merge. There weren’t that many things to read so it didn’t take her that long. Lizzie knew that the merge meant something awful will happen to either Josie or Lizzie but now having proofs in front of her, everything felt more real and undeniable. She took a few minutes to process and breathe in and out calming herself. 

 

‘ Does Josie know? ’ asked Lizzie worried that her sister would immediately sacrifice herself for her. Penelope shook her head. ‘ Good ’ added Lizzie. They stayed silent for a while until Lizzie realized something. ‘ Since when did you do? ’ asked Lizzie.

 

‘ Two weeks before I broke up with Josie ’ answered Penelope before adding some details ‘ I found about it thanks to the pens that I gave to everyone, they allowed me to see everything that anyone writes with it, including your father.’ Of course, her father knew, he was always hiding things from them.

 

‘ Does my mom know? And did you break up with her because of the merge? ’ asked Lizzie.

 

‘ They both know and that’s the reason why your mom is always away, she’s trying to find a cure to the merge. I did break up with her because of the merge because she doesn’t put herself first, I thought that if I broke up with her, she would have more space for herself and voice what she wants instead of letting you get everything that you wanted, but it didn’t work anyway ’ answered Penelope. Lizzie thought about Penelope’s answer and as she was about to reply Penelope spoke up again.

 

‘ I used to blame you for Josie’s behavior but I don’t anymore ’ said Penelope which got Lizzie’s attention. ‘ I know about what she did to you and Hope, I now understand that she has been acting this way as a way to forgive herself from that one mistake she did but by doing so she lost herself and put your first, always no matter what, then, it became a habit. However, she told about how you both have changed now for the better and how your relationship is better, healthier ’ added Penelope looking into Lizzie’s oceans eyes before speaking up again ‘ I am currently also trying to find some kind of loophole or cure behind your mother’s back obviously. I want you to know that I am not just doing it for Josie but also for you. This curse is unfair and so unnecessary now that your coven is basically dead. ’

 

Lizzie pondered over Penelope’s little speech. Everything made sense now, the way Penelope has been acting towards her, it was for Josie’s sake. She wanted to be more positive about a possible cure but according to Penelope’s knowledge, her parents have been looking for a cure for sixteen years. She sucked at math but she surely knew for a fact that the possibilities of them finding a remedy were low. She wanted to blame her parents for not telling them but the more she thought about it the more she wished she never learned about the merge. All along, she had misjudged Penelope and to be honest, she appreciated the fact that Penelope was also trying to save her or whatever. 

 

‘ Don’t worry about Josie. As I told you before, I love Josie so don’t worry you’ll get a future with her, that I can promise you ’ said Lizzie, dead serious. The blonde was starting to accept her fate, it would be useless to deny it or be upset about it. One thing she learned from her class about the history of witches was magic had a cost and that it was death, always. Werewolf had to kill someone to be able to activate their curse, to be a vampire you needed to die and witches often sacrificed each other to gain power. This was a never endless circle.

 

‘ What do you mean, Lizzie? ’ questioned Penelope frowning. 

 

‘ You know what I mean Penelope. If me dying means Josie stays alive, then, so be it ’ answered Lizzie shrugging her shoulders. Penelope didn’t like this at all, maybe a week ago, this would have made her the happiest woman alive, but today, this made her feel uneasy. Perhaps because deep down she was starting to appreciate the other twin, maybe because she had witnessed how Lizzie’s absence impacted her friends or it could be because she knew how much Josie and Hope cared about the tall blonde.

 

‘ And what about Hope? ’ asked Penelope. Lizzie looked at her curiosity filling her eyes.

 

‘ What about Hope? ’ questioned back Lizzie pretending not to know what Penelope meant.

 

‘ Come on Lizzie, don’t play stupid with me. I know what’s going on between you too. Nothing happens in this school without me finding out about it ’ said Penelope smirking while Lizzie rolled her eyes at Penelope’s arrogance.

 

‘ Nothing is going on between us, we're just friends ’ replied Lizzie.

 

‘ Right. Friends who kiss each other’s cheeks and hold hands as soon as they can and spend most of their time together. Sure Lizzie, should I be worried about you stealing my best friend? ’ said Penelope, making fun of the blonde. 

 

‘ Shut up ’ replied Lizzie hiding her blush, ‘ besides, even if I liked her more than a friend, which isn’t the case, it wouldn’t be fair to her knowing that I will die anyway ’ added Lizzie looking away.

 

‘ Lizzie, you don’t have an expiration date. I told you, magic always has a loophole ’ said Penelope, grabbing Lizzie’s hand and squeezing it. Lizzie stared at their hands before sadly smiling at the raven-haired girl.

 

Perhaps this was the beginning of a new friendship. Who could believe Penelope would ever fight for Lizzie’s life as much as she would for Josie's? As they say, expect the unexpected and Penelope and Lizzie were definitely one hell of an unpredictable duo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter said PIZZIE RIGHTS


	8. Chapter 8

Lizzie had been trying to fall asleep for hours now but didn’t manage to do so as her mind was haunted by the merge and her near-death experience. She thought that she could handle it all but really how could anyone carry alone such a burden? As if the merge weren’t enough to keep her awake, she also had to deal with the fact that she got stabbed recently and didn’t feel safe in the school. How was she supposed to tell her father that the school he built to protect them made her feel unsafe? How was she supposed to tell Emma that anytime she closed her eyes, she could feel a knife cutting her stomach open? How was she supposed to tell Josie that they were cursed? How was she supposed to explain to Mg that she was distancing herself for his sake as she knew sooner than later, she will be gone? How was she supposed to live now? She had so many questions but no answers. Suddenly, she felt the room spinning and that was when she thought that it would best to get some fresh air and leave her twin sleep peacefully. 

 

She went to the kitchen, sat down a chair and tried to breathe in and out to calm herself. The voice in her head was getting louder and louder by each passing seconds. The voice in her head kept on telling her that she shouldn’t die for Josie, that she deserved to live just as much. Lizzie stood up shaking her head, she needed to make this voice stop, she paced around the kitchen struggling to breathe. She felt her lungs in dire need of oxygen, she sat down on the floor in a corner of the room, tears now running down her face as the voice just got louder. 

 

Kill Josie! Kill her so that you can live! Do it! Do it now and the merge won’t be a problem anymore! You will find peace by doing so.

 

‘ Stop! ’ yelled Lizzie, her hand was resting on her head as she was trying to shut the voice in her head. She didn’t want to kill Josie and she wasn’t about to do it. She tried to ignore the voice but failed as it just kept on speaking.

 

Come on Lizzie, we both know that you’re selfish, whatever you’re trying to do it’s just fake. You’re fooling no one but yourself. Kill Josie. You’re Lizzie Saltzman, you deserve to live so kill her and you will.

 

Lizzie couldn’t bear to hear all of this nonsense so she stood up and started pacing around the room. She needed to distract herself from the voice in her head whispering her awful ideas. Therefore, she started to siphon magic from her bracelet and using her magic to make as much noise as she could by destroying everything around her while she screamed and cried. Her pain was indescribable.

 

Hope jolted up awake in her room as she felt the connection between her magic and Lizzie’s bracelet activated. Something was wrong, she thought as she realized that Lizzie was siphoning a lot of magic. Maybe she was in danger, thought Hope as she got up and walked towards where her necklace indicated Lizzie's bracelet was. Indeed, Hope had a matching necklace to Lizzie’s bracelet so she was sure that Lizzie was always safe. She didn’t mention it to the blonde because well, she just didn’t want to for obvious reasons. Lizzie didn’t need to know that Hope was always worried about her, especially after what happened with the gargoyle. 

 

She entered the kitchen, whispered a spell to make the room soundproof and to lock it. She ran towards Lizzie, avoiding some flying plates and even some knives as she made her way in front of the blonde who didn’t seem to notice her. She grabbed Lizzie and pulled her into a hug maintaining her in place which seemed to snap Lizzie back into reality as all the flying object suddenly crashed. Lizzie squeezes Hope and sobbed in her arms as Hope told her to focus on breathing in and out. Hope played with Lizzie’s blonde hair to soothe her which worked as the twin finally managed to control her breathing. 

 

‘ I don’t want to die, Hope ’ whispered Lizzie out of nowhere making Hope’s eyes wide open. Hope assumed that this was related to her being in a coma. She hugged the girl tighter, holding back her tears from the thought of Lizzie dying.

 

‘ You’re not dying Lizzie and I won’t let anyone hurt you. I promise. Always and forever, remember? ’ said Hope, trying to appease Lizzie, not aware that the girl was talking about the merge. Not wanting to worry Hope, she nodded. Even always and forever couldn’t save everyone. 

 

‘ Let’s go to my room, you need some sleep, okay? ’ asked Hope, once again Lizzie nodded and so they made their way towards the short girl’s dorm. Lizzie closed her eyes while the tribid cuddled her and played with her blonde locks. Thankfully, she couldn’t hear that stupid voice in her head as she was focused on Hope’s voice. She wasn’t really paying attention to what the girl was saying but Hope’s voice was so soothing that she fell asleep, finally in peace. She thought before falling asleep about how only Hope could calm her so rapidly. Perhaps, she shouldn’t lose hope so soon, she still had six years before the merge. Maybe her parents or Penelope will find a solution. As Hope got closer to her, Lizzie thought that being selfish had its perks, especially it meant falling asleep in Hope’s arms. 

 

Both girls had tried to stay away from each other but failed to do so. Somehow, Lizzie always ended up in Hope’s arms and the blonde surely didn’t mind. Hope fell asleep thinking that maybe, this time, she would allow herself to be selfish. Lizzie needed her and Hope needed the blonde. They couldn’t deny it anymore, they were each other’s anchors. 

 

Hope was the first one to wake up, her legs were tangled with Lizzie’s, her arms were holding Lizzie’s waist close to her and her face was resting next to Lizzie’s neck. Hope was happy at that moment, she wanted to sleep more but also wanted to enjoy Lizzie’s closeness and the heat coming from her body. Hope felt butterflies in her stomach when the blonde unconsciously leaned closer to Hope. Hope really like the blonde, she was crushing hard. Almost losing the twin made her feelings stronger. She now constantly craved Lizzie’s presence. She wanted to make a move on the twin but wasn’t sure whether Lizzie felt the same or not. She didn’t want to lose their friendship if it wasn’t the case, it meant too much to risk it all.

 

Meanwhile, Lizzie woke up and felt Hope’s breath hitting her neck. She decided to pretend to be fast asleep and moved closer to Hope, loving the way Hope held her even tighter. Hope heard Lizzie’s pulse fastening, she smiled realizing that the blonde was pretending to be asleep. Deciding to be bold, she got closer to the girl in order to see what her reaction would be. Then, she pushed Lizzie’s hair aside and rested her head in the crook of Lizzie’s neck. Lizzie held her breath and of course, the tribid noticed it which made her smirk, maybe she did have a chance with Lizzie. 

 

Hope’s phone rang and she saw that she had a text from Alaric telling her that Landon called earlier. Hope put her phone away, kissed Lizzie’s cheek lingering a little longer than she usually would before whispering ‘ good morning ’ to Lizzie. As she let go of Lizzie, the latter turned around and held Hope closer, not letting her go while still closing her eyes. ‘ I know that you’re awake Liz ’ said Hope chuckling but not taking Lizzie arms off her body.

 

‘ I am not ’ replied Lizzie smiling and finally opening her eyes. Hope was mesmerized by Lizzie’s natural beauty. 

 

‘Your father is waiting for me, Lizzie ’ said Hope still smiling at the girl. Lizzie rolled her eyes.

 

‘ I am sure he can wait a little bit. Come on, at least have breakfast with me ’ asked Lizzie, staring into Hope’s eyes. When she noticed the hesitation in Hope’s eyes, she started pouting. That was when Hope gave up and accepted. 

 

‘ Sure, why not? ’ Answered Hope and Lizzie’s smile got bigger.

 

‘ Cool, I’ll go get ready in my room, pick me up when you’re ready ’ said Lizzie before kissing the tribid’s cheek and exiting the room, leaving a blushing Hope behind. Hope smiled and decided that she’ll make Lizzie her girlfriend, after all, who could resist her charms. Game on, thought Hope, a smirk on her face.

 

She knocked on the twins’ door, Lizzie opened it and got out. 

 

‘ Looking good, Lizzie ’ said Hope complimenting the blonde.

 

‘ As always ’ responded Lizzie, a smug expression on her face before winking at the tribid. Hope smirked and grabbed Lizzie’s hand while walking towards the dining hall. Hope had always loved Lizzie’s confidence, the tribid thought that it just made Lizzie even more attractive. 

 

They sat with their friends, Lizzie in between Josie and Mg and Hope next to Penelope. Lizzie didn’t have to wake up this earlier as she still had to rest but she wanted to go back to her routine. She ate her breakfast while joking with her friends and just enjoying their companies, even Penelope’s which everyone else noticed. When Josie made a remark about it, Lizzie just shrugged her shoulders and said something along the lines of only fools don’t change their minds. Josie seemed satisfied with her answer and Mg loved this, now all of his friends got along with no tensions or whatever.

 

‘ To new beginnings, friendships ’ said Lizzie dramatically raising her glass of orange juice and looking at Penelope before briefly looking at Hope and adding ‘ and more’. Everyone cheered at this and soon they all left to class except for Lizzie. Josie saw Lizzie quickly looking at Hope when she said ‘ and more ’ and she definitely intended to interrogate her sister later today.

 

Both Penelope and Hope had a free hour so they decided to hang out and so here they were on the rooftop of the Salvator School. At first, they just remained in silence, it wasn’t an awkward silence though, more like a peaceful one. Penelope nudged Hope to get her attention, Hope nudged her back and soon the girls were playfully hitting each other until the other gave up. They’re both determined so of course, no one wanted to give up until Penelope got tired of it and mentioned Lizzie which immediately made Hope stop. 

 

‘ What about Lizzie? ’ asked Hope. Penelope raised an eyebrow at the tribid before her iconic smirk appeared on her face. Noticing it, Hope rolled her eyes.

 

‘ Come on Hope, don’t play the dumb bitch with me. I have seen the way you have been acting with her. I am not trying to sound jealous but I don’t get cheek kisses anytime I leave you, do I? ’ sassily said Penelope and Hope chuckled.

 

‘ You’re sure you don’t want my kisses ’ replied Hope getting closer to Penelope.

 

‘ Ewww ’ the raven-haired girl said pushing her away while pretending to be disgusted by this idea and the two girls laughed at their own silliness. ‘ Anyways, don’t try to change the topic of the conversation ’ added Penelope narrowing her eyes at the tribid.

 

‘ Okay, you win, maybe I do have a crush or something ’ said Hope knowing that Penelope would have never stopped bugging her about it. Penelope gasped at this as if she didn’t already suspect it. 

 

‘ I knew it ’ shouted out Penelope. ‘ So what are you gonna do about it? ’ curiously asked the brunette.

 

‘ I am not sure yet but for now, I am just gonna keep being my usual self ’ nonchalantly replied Hope.

 

‘ It could work, I mean you do nothing and the whole school has a crush on you, I guess Lizzie couldn’t resist the Mikaelson’s charms either ’ said Penelope. Hope shrugged, fully aware that what her friend just said was one hundred percent true. The list was long, Raf, Landon, Josie, Roman and so many more.

 

‘ Do you think Lizzie likes me too? ’ asked Hope looking away from Penelope, fearing a negative answer. Penelope touched her shoulder to get her attention, Hope looked back at Penelope.

 

‘ Of course, she does. Have you ever seen Lizzie being this touchy, this nice and this soft with anyone else but Josie.’ Said Penelope pointing out the obvious.

 

‘ Oh my god, do you think she sees me as her sister or something? ’ Asked Hope, eyes wide open. Penelope laughed out loud at Hope’s terrified face.

 

‘ Wow, Lizzie really is messing with your head. You used to be such a smart kid, is your brain still working? ’ replied Penelope mocking her best friend while knocking on her head. Hope pushed her away and the brunette laughed again when she notice Hope’s annoyed face. ‘ Look, Hope, Lizzie sure seems to enjoy spending most of her time with you, holding your hands, kissing your cheek and so on. Never in my life have I seen her acting this way with anyone ’ added Penelope and Hope grinned.

 

‘ So should I ask her on a date? ’ Asked Hope.

 

‘ Duh ’ replied Penelope, rolling her eyes at her friend’s obviousness. 

 

‘ Anyway, how are things with Josie? ’ Asked Hope. Penelope spent the next hour talking about her relationship with Josie and Hope gladly listened, happy that both of her friends were happy together. 

 

Meanwhile, Mg, Josie, and Lizzie were hanging out in the woods enjoying the sunny day.

 

‘ Ugh, I hate her so much, she’s so annoying. Hope Mikaelson, more like despair’ Said Mg mimicking Lizzie when she still hated the tribid. ‘ And now, here you are being the softest bitch and giving her heart eyes whenever she’s around ’ added Mg chuckling with Josie.

 

‘ I am not soft at all, I run this school ’ said Lizzie in a matter of fact voice.

 

‘ Sureeeee, let’s just pretend you’re not whipped for her ’ said Josie, Mg laughed out loud and Lizzie gasped. 

 

‘ Oh my God, I am not ’ said Lizzie offended.

 

‘ She once mentioned the fact that she doesn’t drink cows’ milk and ever since you have been drinking almond milk ’ replied Josie, a smirk on her face as she knew that her sister couldn’t deny this.

 

‘ Cows’ milk make my skin break out. Besides, everyone should stop drinking it for cows’ sake. Save the planet and the animals, go vegan ’ answered Lizzie.

 

‘ Anyway, don’t try to distract us ’ said Mg narrowing his eyes at his best friend. ‘ Do you or do you not have a crush on Hope?’ Asked Mg, already knowing the answer.

 

‘ I do not ’ replied Lizzie, denying the truth.

 

‘ Stop lying, I won’t be mad if you have a crush on her Lizzie ’ said Josie.

 

‘ Really? ’ asked Lizzie, staring into her sister’s brown eyes.

 

‘ Of course, I won’t. Yes, I had a crush on her when I was younger but it was just a silly crush that I took too far because deep down, I think that I knew that you two were meant for more. Plus, I am in love with Penelope now ’ replied Josie, now thinking of her beloved girlfriend.

 

‘ Okay, well maybe I do have a crush on her ’ revealed Lizzie quietly. 

 

‘ Yess ’ yelled Mg. ‘ We knew it ’ said Mg high-fiving Josie. ‘ I can’t believe this happened because I pushed you two to talk, I am basically cupid ’ said Mg, proud of himself. Lizzie rolled her eyes at Mg’s and Josie’s reactions. 

 

And so, Mg and Josie kept on joking around and making fun of Lizzie while the latter pretended to be annoyed but really, she was more than joyous in that moment with her twin and her best friend. Later, Mg announced that he had a date with Nia tonight, therefore, the twins helped him get ready. Perhaps, love was in the air around the Salvator Boarding School.

 

‘ Liz ’ said Hope trying to get the blonde’s attention in order to ask her out. They were both in the kitchen, around one am as per usual.

 

‘ I like it when you call me Liz ’ stated Lizzie, staring into Hope’s ocean eyes, a huge smile plastered on her face.

 

‘ Yeah? ’ asked Hope, smiling back at the blonde.

 

‘ Yeah ’ confirmed Lizzie.

 

‘ Okay ’ said the tribid before adding ‘ Liz ’ and winking at the blonde who blushed and looked away. Hope kept on looking at Lizzie’s face.

 

‘ Stop staring, despair ’ said Lizzie, a smirk on her face when the redhead laughed, remembering all the times Lizzie used that nickname. 

 

‘ Now, that’s just mean ’ complained Hope pouting. Lizzie grinned and chuckled at Hope’s sad face.

 

‘ That’s what you get for not making me a sandwich ’ declared Lizzie, narrowing her eyes at Hope. Hope whispered something and suddenly Lizzie was holding a sandwich. ‘ You could have done that earlier but you didn’t ’ said Lizzie gasping. Hope rolled her eyes, asked for a bite from the sandwich and when Lizzie told her to just make her own magic sandwich appear out of nowhere, she knew that this girl was going to cause her death but the redhead definitely didn’t mind. 

 

Later, when Hope was laying in her bed, she realized that she forgot to ask the blonde on a date. She mentally slapped herself and started to think about how she was going to do so. At first, she thought that she could just directly ask her out when she would see her but the blonde had the tendency to make her forget about everything. Then, she thought about writing her a letter, after all the girl always knew how to express herself in a beautiful way but she wanted to do something more special, more personal. That was when she got the idea of painting the blonde, that way she could show Lizzie how she viewed her, how amazing and magnificent she was. Besides, paintings were something that meant a lot to the tribid as her father was the one who taught her how to paint. She had always associated great memories of her father with painting.

 

So, of course, Hope spent the following hours painting the tall blonde in the arts room of the school. She left her piece of art there and went to enjoy some much needed sleep in her room. Before falling asleep, she promised herself that tomorrow she will tell Lizzie how she feels. Little did she know, what was coming for her at dawn.


	9. Chapter 9

Here, she was in Alaric office listening to Landon’s voicemail, he left it two days ago but Alaric was too busy to notice it. In the said voicemail, Landon told them to say hi to Jed which Hope immediately thought was weird but Alaric didn’t see what was wrong with Landon saying hi to a classmate so he didn't worry about it and left the school to find Dorian. 

 

Once she was alone, she listened to the voicemail over and over until she was one hundred percent sure that Landon was in the Triad secret building. She warned her super squad that they would leave soon to go save Landon. Unfortunately, Raf wouldn't come as he was still struggling between his wolf and his human mind. 

 

When Hope, Kaleb, Josie, Lizzie, Jed, and Penelope made their way outside of the school, they were met with a huge amount of men from the Triad, armed to the teeth, ready to attack as soon as their leader tells them to. Hope said a spell but it didn’t work so Kaleb tried to speed walk towards them but the sun burned his skin. One of the men spoke up and informed them that they didn’t have their powers anymore. And just like that, the young and gifted teenagers were at their mercy. Soon enough, they learned the reason why triad was here, they were looking for the third key of Malivore. 

 

All of the kids pretended to be looking for it, meanwhile, Penelope, Josie, Lizzie, and Hope went in Alaric’s office to find the school phone. They called Alaric, told him about their situation and he told them to obey and do nothing dangerous. Obviously, Hope didn’t listen. 

 

‘ What do we do now? ’ asked Lizzie.

 

‘ Now, we find a way to get our powers back and we kick some paramilitary ass ’ answered Hope, determined to beat those men to go save her friend Landon.

 

‘ Wait, dad said not to do anything crazy ’ said Josie. 

 

‘ Me defying your dad is not crazy, it’s consistent ’ answered Hope and Penelope nodded while Josie glared at her girlfriend.

 

‘ Well, at least, we know where you stand’ said Burr opening the doors of Alaric’s office.

 

‘ You’re damn right we do.’ Said Hope walking closer to him, defying him which made him frown. Penelope stood closer to her girlfriend sensing that something wrong could happen with this crazy man.

 

‘ You’re not scared of me, aren’t you? How about now? ’ said Burr, pointing his gun at Hope. Hope chuckled before responding.

 

‘ That’s your plan, you’re gonna shoot a kid ’ replied Hope.

 

‘ This gun would never harm a human child, you four, however. These bullets were formed from the mod of the malivore pit and were weaponized by triad scientists, they can break the skin of supernatural like a knife through butter. Faster, infect them, disintegrate them from the inside out ’ said Burr, a smirk on his face.

 

‘ We don’t know where the chalice is ’ said Josie.

 

‘ I believe you ’ he replied while the girls were getting worried about what could happen next. ‘ This is just for fun really ’ he added raising his gun.

 

‘ Eenie ’ said Burr pointing his gun towards Hope, who held her breath. ‘ Meenie ’ he added pointing his gun at Penelope and then Josie. ‘ miny ' said Burn, now pointing his gun at Lizzie before pointing it toward Josie.

 

‘ Mo ’ replied Lizzie as she moved forward, Josie noticing what her twin was doing and tried to jump in front of her, however, Penelope pulled her back. Burr shot Lizzie twice even if Hope tried to prevent the balls from touching the blonde. Lizzie held her wounds as she laid on the floor, surrounded by a crying Josie and two worried witches.

 

‘ Lock them up ’ said Burr before leaving the office.

 

Hope was pacing around the room while Lizzie was laying down with Josie and Penelope around her.

 

‘ What the hell is wrong with you? ’ asked Lizzie looking at her twin.

 

‘ With me? You practically begged him to shoot you ’ answered Josie.

 

‘ Rather me than you, Josie. I am your sister, I’ll always protect you ’ replied Lizzie holding her sister’s hand and staring at her eyes trying to convey her sincerity. Josie hugged her sister, not knowing how to answer her twin. Penelope made eye contact with the blonde, aware of what Lizzie really meant with this sentence. Aware that when the time comes, Lizzie would indeed rather be the one dying than Josie. She needed to find a solution, she couldn’t lose Josie nor Lizzie but maybe it was already too late. Penelope jumped when a man hit the bar of the door.

 

‘ Keep it quiet in there ’ ordered the man.

 

‘ We’re not in the prison yard asshat ’ snapped back Lizzie and the man left. Then, Hope sat down in front of the twin and Penelope.

 

‘ You guys, I am so sorry. I mean I dragged you both into this and I have absolutely no idea how to get us out of it’ said Hope, desperate and lost.

 

‘ Well, that is just not good enough Hope. I am clearly dying and we did not wait ten years to become friends with you for you to not come through with your annoyingly perfect Hope Mikaelson heroics when we need you the most ’ replied Lizzie staring into Hope’s ocean eyes. Hope stared back and squeezed Lizzie’s hand when Lizzie reached out for Hope’s hand. Hope slightly smiled at Lizzie.

 

‘ She’s right for a change, it’s hero time Hope ’ said Penelope resting her hands on the twins’ shoulder and looking at her best friend. 

 

‘ I said keep it down in there ’ yelled an angry man before Mg shot him.

 

‘ Did someone say hero time?’ Asked Mg.

 

Mg informed the girls about the blood fountain preventing them from having their powers and explained to them his plan. Hope had to stop the blood fountain in the secret tunnels while Mg and Penelope spread the words that they will get their powers soon and should be ready to fight back. Josie had to stay with Lizzie and siphon the sludge out of Lizzie. Penelope kissed her girlfriend and looked at Lizzie.

 

‘ If you die, I’ll keep you company in hell’ said Penelope and the blonde chuckled. Josie glared at her girlfriend and Penelope looked away aware that Josie probably didn’t like her joke, she left looking for Kaleb and her cousin Jed.

 

‘ I’ll be back as soon as I can, please keep this two from trying to die for each other ’ said Hope to Mg and Penelope.

 

‘ You need to go help Landon, we don’t need you to be here ’ answered Mg.

 

‘ But I can’t leave you guys here ’ stated Hope.

 

‘ For the love of Frodo, go rescue your hobbit, we’ll muddle through ‘ replied Lizzie.

 

‘ I can’t leave you like this Lizzie ’ said Hope, afraid that this time she might really lose her for good. 

 

‘ She’s right, again ’ spoke up Josie.

 

‘ We have been watching you save the day this entire year, Hope. We got it, go save Landon ’ insisted Mg. Hope looked at Lizzie who nodded and finally left them behind.

 

‘ Everything is gonna be okay ’ said Mg to the twins. Josie gave him her birthday’s gift from Hope to make quiet things heard. Mg nodded and followed his plan.

 

Meanwhile, Alaric appeared out of nowhere and helped Hope stop the blood fountain. He noticed a hole on Hope’s jacket and asked her what happened. When she realized that the bullet from Malivore didn’t hurt her, she came up with a solution to save Lizzie and a new plan to end Malivore. Hope told Alaric that Lizzie got shot but that her blood will fix it. As soon as the teenagers got their powers back, they fought back, even little Pedro helped them, soon enough they were free from Triad Industry. Everything was going well, just like Mg planned it. 

 

Well, maybe not everything as Josie couldn’t siphon the bullet and save Lizzie’s life. She kept on trying until Lizzie told her to stop, tears running down her face, perhaps she would die sooner than expected. Josie started to sob and Lizzie decided to tell her the truth about their fate or rather what used to be their fate as Lizzie dying now would obviously put an end to the curse.

 

‘ Josie, I need to tell you something ’ said Lizzie. Josie looked at her twin, curiously waiting for Lizzie to speak up. ‘ There’s this thing called the Merge. It’s a curse on the Gemini Coven, it was supposed to happen when we turn twenty-two but I might not make it tonight ’ added Lizzie while she wiped Josie’s tears away and then held her hands. ‘ The Merge is a sort of fight between every pair of twin, the twins will have to fight each other until one of them dies and the other takes the other’s magic up. The winner also becomes the new leader of the coven ’ said Lizzie waiting for Josie’s reaction. 

 

The brunette was confused, how could anyone expect her to fight her sister and worse to kill her and for what, a dead coven? How come her sister knew about it? Did her parents know too? For how long did she know about all of this and kept it to herself? Josie had so many questions but hearing her twin violently coughing snapped her back into reality. 

 

‘ I am sorry, Josie, I really am but I was protecting you. And I was right to do so, I saw the way you were about to jump in front of me ’ said Lizzie.

 

‘ So, you’re allowed to put your life in danger for me but I can’t. Please, Lizzie, don’t tell me you let yourself get shot earlier because of the merge ’ asked Josie worried.

 

‘ Listen to me Josie, I am the broken one, I was never meant to win the merge. So yeah, today or in six years or whenever, I’ll always take a bullet for you ’ answered the blonde before coughing once again, except that this time she tasted blood on her tongue and her vision became blurry.

 

‘ If I don’t make it, remember that I want you to be happy. Make your dreams come true, go to Paris with Penelope, live fully and never let yourself hide behind anyone’s shadow. Please, don’t be mad at mom and dad for hiding this from us, they wanted us to have a normal life and not worring about dying because it sucks knowing that you’re not in control of your destiny.’ She said before coughing again, she felt herself slowly becoming weaker and weaker so she hugged Josie one last time as tightly as she could.

 

‘ Also, don’t be pissed at Penelope for not telling you about the merge, she’s been looking for a cure to save us. Tell her that I am glad that she’s the one you love because at least I know that she would always have your back ’ added Lizzie, both girls were a mess, Josie was sobbing in her sister’s arms not wanting to let her go. She couldn’t lose her, she already felt her heart breaking into pieces. Deep down, Josie could feel her anger rising, if she ended up losing Lizzie, she will never be the same. She felt full of hatred, she hated her sister for trying to be some kind of hero, she hated herself for not being able to save her, she hated the world for always taking away what made her happy. 

 

‘ Tell Mg that he’s a good man, the best I know, no matter what his family thinks ’ added Lizzie and Josie wanted to yell, to scream at her sister to shut up because she didn’t need to tell Mg, Lizzie will tell him herself later once someone comes up with a solution, probably Hope, after all, she was the badass tribid that kept this school safe.

 

Lizzie rested her head in the crook of Josie’s neck before closing her eyes. She knew that it was now just a matter of minutes before the bullet killed her from the inside out.

 

‘ Tell Hope that I’ll miss her sandwiches and that I love her ’ whispered Lizzie, Josie’s eyes widen however before she could say anything her father entered the room running and helping Lizzie drink what he said was Hope’s blood. Lizzie felt the blood running down her throat and felt alive again.

 

Josie and Alaric felt relieved as Lizzie’s wound suddenly disappeared. Alaric hugged his daughters and apologize for once again not being able to protect them. He told them that he loved them and kissed their foreheads before leaving the girls so that they could get some rest after this very traumatic day. Nevertheless, as he was about to leave the room, Lizzie called him and told him the truth about the merge. Alaric sighed, how could this day get worst? He sat down in front of his daughters and explained to them everything. How he and Caroline were always looking for a solution. He told them that Caroline never left because she wanted to but because she had to. He explained to them that he knew he should have told them sooner but how could he tell his children something like that. After this long and much-needed conversation, the Saltzman family didn’t hide any secrets from each other. 

 

Josie Saltzman had always believed that honesty was the most crucial thing in a relationship but damn did she wish she could go back to the days where her only worries were whether her ex and her sister would end up killing each other. Speaking of Penelope, Josie left a sleeping Lizzie to go check on her girlfriend and talk to her. They will get through this, through anything, she truly believed it even Lizzie did too.

 

A few moments later, Hope was alone at triad headquarters looking at Landon’s body laying on the floor. She had just ended her phone call with Alaric after throwing Clarke into Malivore. She moved closer and looked down at the mud pit, ready to jump to save her friends, her family, and the world. 

 

In spite of her badass appearance, Hope Mikaelson was scared, the only thing she feared more than losing people was being completely alone. She remembered how awful she felt when she was lost in the necromancer’s mind. She remembered how empty and hopeless she felt, she hated that time but she had to face her fear for everyone’s sake. She was the loophole, the only way to kill this monster. She prayed that when she’ll jump and kill Malivore, she will be dead too, maybe then, she will finally be able to join her family. 

 

As she was about to jump, she heard her phone ringing, she looked down at her phone and noticed that Lizzie was the one calling her. She felt a tear ran down her face, should she answer this? She wanted to know that the girl was better and she wanted to hear her voice one last time but she feared that she might end up giving up on her plan. Nevertheless, she did answer.

 

‘ Hope? Where are you? What’s going on? Why is your room empty? ’ asked Lizzie, Hope could tell that the blonde was panicking and it broke her heart, maybe she shouldn’t have answered her phone because now she had to say goodbye to Lizzie and it would probably hurt more than her phone call with Alaric.

 

‘ Sit down and breath in and out, okay? ’ Said Hope and of course, Lizzie obeyed sitting down on Hope’s deckchair. She took a deep breath and fidgeted with a pen which was the only thing left on Hope’s desk.

 

‘ What’s going on, Hope? When are you coming back? ’ asked again Lizzie, her voice was filled with worry. Little did she know, that Hope was never coming back.

 

‘ Lizzie, how are you? Did my blood heal you? ’ asked Hope already aware of the answer but trying to dodge Lizzie’s questions.

 

‘ I am fine, thank you. Now, tell me what you’re doing ’ demanded Lizzie, getting tired of Hope avoiding her questions. Hope slightly started to panic, should she tell her that she was going to sacrifice herself? It would only hurt her for nothing since she will forget about her once Hope jump so maybe not telling her was better. But Hope knew that Lizzie deserved a proper goodbye.

 

‘ Sandwico venarum ’ said Hope.

 

‘ What? ’ Asked Lizzie confused.

 

‘ That’s the spell that I used to make that sandwich appear last night, in case you ever get hungry and you’re too lazy to cook ’ said Hope, a sad smile on her face thinking about how happy she was yesterday with Lizzie.

 

‘ Why would I need it when I have you aka my personal sandwich maker? ’ said Lizzie chuckling. Suddenly Hope sobbed and that was when she told Lizzie about Landon’s father, about how she was the only one who could kill Malivore. 

 

‘ No ’ said Lizzie crying.

 

‘ No? ’ asked Hope.

 

‘ No, I am not losing you tonight Hope. I don’t care, let that demon rise. Come home, we’ll find another solution with your stupid super squad like we always do ’ firmly stated Lizzie and for a second Hope wanted to listen to the blonde, wanted to be selfish and fall asleep in Lizzie’s arms tonight but really that was nothing but wishful thinking.

 

‘ I can’t, I am sorry Lizzie ’ said Hope, trying to sound calm.

 

‘ I need you, please Hope ’ begged Lizzie.

 

‘ I know that it hurts now, but you won’t remember me and you will move on with your life ’ replied Hope. Saying this out loud hurt, no one will remember her, it will be as if she never existed, no one will ever think about her. Lizzie was now sobbing, she was going crazy trying to find a solution to stop Hope. 

 

‘ Hope, you don’t understand, I really need you. There’s this thing called the merge, it will happen when we’re twenty-two, the weaker twin will die and the stronger one with absorb her power and become the leader of our coven’ said Lizzie. Hope gasped, she knew Lizzie wasn’t lying, she had heard Alaric talk about it with Caroline once.

 

‘ Call my aunt Freya Mikaelson, I am sure she will be helpful, note it down, you will forget soon ’ replied Hope. She knew that if she didn’t jump now, Lizzie won’t live until she’ll be twenty-two. Malivore will rise and absorb all of her friends. She couldn’t let it happen. Lizzie obeyed and wrote down a few words on a piece of paper. 

 

‘ I won’t forget you ’ said Lizzie and Hope wanted to believe, she really did but she couldn’t and just like that she jumped but not before speaking up one last time with tears in her eyes.

 

‘ I love you, Liz ’ said Hope, Lizzie’s eyes widen, tears running down her face and before she could reply Hope hung up. 

 

In a desperate attempt to feel close to Hope she siphoned her magic from her bracelet. And for a few seconds, she felt Hope’s magic running through her veins until the diamond suddenly stopped glowing the same way Hope stopped living, at least that was what Lizzie thought. And just like that, she lost her anchor. So, she did the only thing that helped her, she screamed, cried, broke everything around her until Alaric entered the room, held Lizzie in his arms and helped her calm down from her episode.

 

‘ Something’s wrong, daddy ’ said Lizzie sobbing in her father’s arms.

 

‘ What’s wrong, sweetie? ’ asked Alaric pulling away and looking at her daughter’s miserable eyes.

 

‘ I- I don’t remember ’ answered Lizzie frowning, a troubled expression plastered on her face.

 

‘ It’s okay ’ replied Alaric. Once Lizzie felt slightly better he walked her to her room and left to go pick Landon up. 

 

That night, Lizzie struggled to fall asleep, she still felt like something wasn’t right but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Nevertheless, she ended up falling asleep around 1 am. Perhaps, if she had stayed up a little longer, she would have noticed a glowing diamond enlightening her room for an instant before the room was pitch black again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it!! Don't hate me for the end wbk it had to happen


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FOR THE SAKE OF THIS FIC LET’S JUST PRETEND THAT EVERYONE FROM THE GEMINI COVEN IS A SIPHONER

Lizzie was surrounded by darkness, she couldn’t see anything yet she kept on walking around trying to reach the person who was calling her. She couldn’t tell who this voice belonged to but somehow the voice was familiar. It was soft, calm, soothing yet Lizzie could tell that the person who was calling her was hiding her true emotions. The blonde listened attentively and kept walking closer until she noticed the shape of a girl in the dark, then, she saw blue eyes staring at her and she looked back at the girl. The voice called out her name again and this time Lizzie could that tell that the girl was scared. What could she be scared of? She ran toward her and the girl extended her hand to Lizzie. When she almost touched the girl’s hand, Lizzie jolted awake. 

 

It was all a dream, a weird one that just amplified the fact that she thought something was wrong. She felt her heart beating fast, she breathed in and out while unconsciously fidgeting with her bracelet. She looked at it and realized that she didn’t remember where or when she purchased it, she didn’t mind though, she thought it was cute.

 

Lizzie got ready for school and went to join her sister and friends at the dining hall for breakfast. On her way there, she walked by that empty room where she had an episode last night, she stopped and looked at it. Something was pulling her towards the room, so she entered it, once inside she noticed how messy the room was. Half of the items of furniture were broken or turned upside down, she decided to clean her mess. With some magic and a bit of physical effort, the room was clean again, quite rapidly. She looked around, glad that her dad wouldn’t have to clean after her as usual. She went to take her phone that she had set down on the desk earlier but saw a piece of paper on the floor. She grabbed it and was confused when she realized that it was her handwriting but what confused her more was what was written.

 

Call Hope’s aunt, Freya Mikaelson, for the merge. Remember Hope.

 

For a moment, she had forgotten about the merge but now she couldn’t stop thinking about it. Josie was aware of their fate and she didn’t have to hide it from her so she was kind of relieved, she hated lying and keeping secrets from her sister. She looked at the piece of paper, she obviously was the one who wrote this yet she couldn’t remember doing so. She was getting tired of that feeling, still, she was thankful to have a clue about a possible solution to end their curse. 

 

Remember Hope.

 

Who was Hope? When and why did she write this note? What was she supposed to do now that she found this piece of paper? How could she remember this person name, Hope? Should she tell anyone about this or keep it to herself? She had so many questions and no answers. 

 

‘ Hi, Lizzie, you didn’t have to clean the room ’ said Alaric entering the room, Lizzie quickly put the note in her pocket and turned around to greet her father.

 

‘ Hi, daddy. I wanted to, I felt bad about you always having to clean after me ’ answered Lizzie and Alaric hugged her and kissed her forehead.

 

‘ It’s okay, Lizzie, you don’t have to feel guilty at all. By the way don’t forget about your appointment with Emma later after class, okay? ’ said Alaric and Lizzie nodded. ‘ Come on, let’s get you some breakfast before you go to class ’ added Alaric. Lizzie followed her father and they both went looking for Josie before eating their breakfast together. Alaric told the twins that Caroline was coming back soon and the girls were beyond happy to see their mother after she left earlier yesterday morning before triad attacked them. Caroline wanted to make sure that her daughters were fine. For a little while, she forgot about the note, about the merge and just enjoyed this moment with her family.

 

During her classes, she spent her time spacing out and thinking about her note and that name, Hope Mikaelson. She knew about the Mikaelsons, who didn’t, they were the originals, the most powerful family on earth. However, she never heard about a certain Hope Mikaelson which was weird. She also knew that they gave a lot of money to the school, what she didn’t know was why. They weren’t the kind to just give millions of dollars for no particular reason. Maybe she could ask her dad or her mom.

 

At lunch, Lizzie ate with her twin, Penelope, Mg, Kaleb, Landon, and Jed. They talked, laughed and joked around. She really did enjoy her time with her friends but still, she felt like something was missing so she smiled, nodded and laughed at the right moments. Yet Penelope noticed that something was wrong with the blonde when she didn’t insult her at all, she didn’t even call her the devil, sure they were friends now but it was still a part of their friendship. Penelope assumed that it had something to do with the fact that she almost died yesterday. Thank god, she made it out alive, thought Penelope.

 

‘ So tell me, Lizzie, how do feel about what happened yesterday? ’ asked Emma who was sitting in a chair in front of the young teenager.

 

‘ You mean me almost dying for the second time in a week or my dad finally telling us about the merge? ’ Asked Lizzie.

 

‘ We can talk about all of this. Let’s start with the merge. How did you feel when you learned about it? ’ asked Emma.

 

‘ Whatever I say stays between us, right? ’ asked Lizzie.

 

‘ Of course ’ answered Emma.

 

‘ So, I knew about the Merge before daddy told us. I had time to think about it and accept it. At first, I kind of took it badly and thought that’ll just die because I can’t let Josie sacrifice herself, she deserves so much better. Now, I think that I am going to try to be more hopeful and believe that mom will find a solution. I am not gonna lie, I am grateful I didn’t know it before, I am not sure I would have been able to bear it ’ truthfully said Lizzie, expressing how she had been feeling.

 

‘ Would you answer me if I ask you how you find out? ’ ask Emma and Lizzie shook her head, whispering a ‘ sorry ’. ‘ I am glad to hear that you have hope for a future, I am sure that you’re aware that your parents are doing their best to find a solution ’ added Emma and Lizzie nodded, of course she knew it and she couldn’t be more grateful that they were fighting for her future and Josie’s.

 

‘ Did you sleep well this night after yesterday’s events? ’ asked Emma in her soothing voice.

 

‘ Not really, I struggled a lot to fall asleep but I don’t think it’s because I got shot ’ answered Lizzie.

 

‘ Then, what is concerning you? ’ questioned Emma.

 

‘ I don’t know. My guts are telling me that something is wrong, that something is missing but I can’t point it. I know this may sound weird but I think that someone might need my help ’ expressed Lizzie thinking about her note. She didn’t plan on telling anyone about it, she didn’t want people to think she was going crazy.

 

‘ This feeling that something is missing do you think that it could be related to the fact that you don’t feel safe in the school anymore. Before your experiences with death, this school was a safe place but now it isn’t anymore, is it? Maybe, what you are missing is this impression of safety ’ claimed Emma. Lizzie remained silent, the more she thought about it the more she believed Emma’s words. After all, it was true, she didn’t feel safe anymore since her incident with the gargoyle, maybe being shot just amplified how insecure she felt. 

 

Well, Lizzie really tried to believe Emma and forget about the note and her questions but too many things happened that she couldn’t explain, too many people couldn’t remember things which were related to yesterday’s events. For example, after her appointment with Emma, Lizzie asked her dad whose blood she drank to heal her and her father had no answer, actually, his answer was ‘ I don’t remember ’. Her father wasn’t the kind to forget important things but she decided not to overthink it until Landon told her that he came back to life in triad headquarters and that her father came to pick him up because he found a note telling him that Landon needed him. She wasn’t the only one who found a note, she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t remember things but she was the only one missing something or rather someone.

 

Then, when Lizzie thought this day couldn’t get odder than it already was, she found Rafael in the woods in his wolf form. Usually, Lizzie couldn’t care less about Rafael, he was just someone she used to crush on and was stupid enough to have sex with him but the young werewolf couldn’t turn back into his human form. So, Lizzie tried to communicate with him but of course, it was hard especially when she tried to come up with reasons as to why Rafael couldn’t turn back into a human and he only could nod or shake his head. 

 

She had been in the woods with Rafael for three hours now, she had missed dinner and was getting tired. It was dark but the moon enlightened the woods, she looked at the sky and admired the huge amount of stars and somehow felt at peace, her pulse was speeding up, this moment felt so familiar. She allowed herself to close her eyes and enjoy this moment of calmness. She almost fell asleep sitting on the dirty ground of the woods, her head resting against a tree and her eyes staring at the starry sky wanting to enjoy the view as much as she could. Eventually, Rafael growled to get Lizzie’s attention and when she curiously looked at him, he started writing something with his paws on the ground. Once he was done, Lizzie used her phone to light up what Rafael had written. When she read that name again she gasped, she couldn’t believe her eyes. 

 

‘ Rafael, do you remember her? ’ urgently asked Lizzie and the werewolf nodded. Lizzie sighed both from exhaustion and happiness. She wasn’t crazy, someone named Hope, probably Hope Mikaelson according to her note was forgotten by everyone, everyone but Rafael who was stuck as a wolf. She needed him to turn into his human form as soon as possible. Lizzie hated admitting this but she needed Rafael’s help. Her phone rang so she took it out of her pocket and saw that her father was calling her. She texted him that they needed to talk and that she was on her way to his office.

 

‘ Looks like we’re in this together but next time, be smart don’t make us wait two whole ass hours to write a name down ’ said Lizzie walking away and Rafael followed.

 

Once they entered Alaric’s office, Lizzie sat down on a chair and Rafael just sat next to her on the floor. Alaric seemed upset when he found out that Lizzie was in the woods at night, he had been telling everyone at school to avoid the woods as they were dangerous, especially at night.

 

‘ Daddy, how is Rafael going to turn back into a human? ’ asked Lizzie.

 

‘ First of all, Lizzie I understand that you’re worried for your classmate but this doesn’t excuse you for hanging out in the woods at night ’ replied Alaric, worried for his daughter which was understandable, he did almost loss his daughter twice in the same week. This week had been one hell of an emotional rollercoaster for Alaric between his daughter, the students, and triad. And when he thought he could finally get some rest, he had to deal with Rafael, Landon who couldn’t remember who and how they got rid of Malivore. 

 

‘ Sorry, it won’t happen again, I just needed some fresh air and then I found him ’ said Lizzie trying to justify herself.

 

‘ I’ll let it go but only this time okay? ’ asked Alaric and Lizzie nodded. ‘ As regards of Rafael, I don’t know but it’s just a question of time before Dorian and I find a solution. You shouldn’t worry about that, we got it. Go to sleep now, it’s late and you have school tomorrow ’ added Alaric and Lizzie agreed and hugged her father before leaving while Rafael stayed in Alaric’s office.

 

‘ Come on, follow me, you’ll sleep in Landon’s room so you don’t feel lonely ’ said Alaric and Rafael moved towards the door.

 

 

Three weeks later, Lizzie along with her father and Dorian were still trying to turn Rafael into his human form. It had become Lizzie’s priority, to others, it looked like Lizzie cared a lot about Rafael, but really the blonde needed something to focus on and distract herself from that mystery girl that kept on haunting her dreams at night and her thoughts during the day. As regards of the note, she knew that before paying a visit to Freya Mikaelson, she needed to know everything about Hope, Freya’s supposed to be niece and for that she needed Rafael. So really, what else could she do but try to turn him into his human form? 

 

Meanwhile, Penelope was still working on finding a solution to prevent the Merge from happening. She secretly joined forces with Caroline, while the twin’s mother was back to traveling around the world, Penelope made sure to read every book Caroline sent while she was busy meeting witches, vampires, and werewolves. 

 

Josie and Penelope were stronger than ever, principally because now Josie knew about the Merge and about Penelope working with her mom. It took Josie a while to accept everything, Josie just like her twin had decided that she wouldn’t kill her sister, especially after almost losing Lizzie twice. Therefore, Josie enjoyed every day as if it were her last day on earth but that didn’t mean that she had simply accepted her fate, she was also along with her parents and Penelope trying to find a solution.

 

Josie and Lizzie never talked about the merge, both were fine talking about it with others but with each other it clearly was impossible. They knew that they were both willing to sacrifice themselves for the other which just made it more difficult because neither Josie nor Lizzie wanted to live if it meant losing their twin. So, whenever they were together they talked about Penelope and Josie’s relationship, Lizzie’s and Penelope’s new friendship, Mg’s new girlfriend Nia and so on.

 

That day, Dorian had finally found the solution and with Emma’s help, Rafael turned back into his human’s form. Once Alaric was sure that he was fine, both physically and mentally, he let the boy go. Rafael decided to go see Lizzie, he knew that the girl tried to help him and the least he could do was thank her. As he was about to knock, the door opened and Lizzie appeared.

 

‘ Raf? Oh my god, you’re not a wolf anymore ’ asked Lizzie existed to learn the good news.

 

‘ Yes, finally. Being stuck as a wolf sucked. Anyway, I wanted to thank you for everything ’ sincerely said Rafael before hugging the girl.

 

‘ Of course ’ replied Lizzie hugging him back before pulling away.

 

‘ I know that before everything that happened we didn’t really talk since you know I kind of was an asshole to you. So, I am sorry for that and I was thinking that maybe we could be friends ’ revealed Rafael.

 

‘ Of course, but Rafael, I need your help with something ’ said Lizzie.

 

‘ I am listening ’ replied the werewolf.

 

‘ When I found you in the woods, you wrote Hope on the ground. Do you remember who that is? ’ asked the blonde.

 

‘ I- I don’t actually. I mean the wolf side of my brain probably remembers but the human part of my brain doesn’t, I think ’ truthfully answered Raf. ‘ But I could try to drink that potion again that helped me with my memory ’ nicely offered Rafael who really wanted to help his new friend.

 

‘ No, it’s too dangerous and it damaged you enough the last time you drank that potion. Don’t worry I’ll find my answers but thank you ’ replied Lizzie. Rafael nodded, smiled at his friend and turned to leave.

 

‘ Wait ’ said Lizzie when Rafael turned around and looked at her curiously. ‘ Could this stay between us, I don’t want my dad to find out about it? ' Asked Lizzie and Rafael agreed before leaving once and for all.

 

It was three am when Penelope got a phone call from her coven that completely changed her life. It was three am when Penelope had tears running down her face from happiness and relief. It was three am when Penelope discovered that Josie and Lizzie won’t have to merge. It was three am when Penelope learned that her coven was responsible for the Gemini curse. It was three am when Penelope barged into the twin’s room and announced that she could undo the curse. 

 

The following night, during the witching hour, Caroline, Alaric, Emma, the twins, and Penelope were gathered in the wood to undo the curse. Penelope has spent the day practicing the spell to make sure that nothing goes wrong so she was more than ready to do it. Penelope cut Lizzie’s and Josie’s palms of their hands before cutting her owns and holding their hands together. Their blood mixing together while Penelope started chanting a spell. They all felt the magic running through their veins, it was a very powerful and dark kind of magic. Penelope closed her eyes and remained focus on chanting the incantation even though she felt herself getting weaker and weaker. Josie and Lizzie felt their joined hands burning but Penelope had warned them that it would happen and that they absolutely couldn’t let go as this feeling meant that the spell was working.

 

Leaves were flying around them, the wind was getting stronger and the sky darker. Suddenly, Lizzie and Josie felt a huge amount of magic entering their bodies and when Penelope pronounced the spell one last time the twins’ eyes rolled back and they simultaneously fainted leaving a worried Penelope behind. 

 

Twenty four hours, that was how long they slept before waking up in the nursery. This was starting to turn into a habit for Lizzie. Once they were awake, the twins didn’t waste any time to check whether the curse was undone or not so they tried a simple spell, healing their cuts from the previous night and when it worked the twins couldn’t hold back their tears. They did it, Penelope did it, she saved them. 

 

Indeed, the curse cast by Penelope’s coven’s aim was to use the Gemini coven’s magic against themselves. Penelope’s coven had taken their magic and gave it to this invisible connection between twins that forced them to kill each other and merge for more power. Therefore, by undoing the curse, Lizzie and Josie could still siphon magic but they also had their own sources of magic coming from themselves. The twins weren’t aware of it but they just became ones of the most powerful witches on earth alongside with Freya Mikaelson and the one and only tribid. They both equally shared all of their ancestors’ powers which had been unfairly stolen and given to this superior force for hundreds of years. 

 

But the twins weren't used to having this kind of powers so could it lead them to walk a dark path or a brighter one? Only time will tell us.


	11. Chapter 11

It had been a month since the merge wasn’t an issue anymore. The twins loved their new found powers and enjoyed learning more spells and not having to siphon magic from people or things. Everything around the school was better, Alaric was constantly in a great mood, he was glad that he didn’t have to worry about his daughter’s future and could remain focus on just being a better headmaster and father. Caroline finally settled back home and was back to run the school with Alaric. The twins felt like they could breathe again and were more than happy to get their family back together. Penelope could completely go back to simply being a teenager instead of focusing on saving her girlfriend from a troubled future. 

 

Everyone noticed it, the change in the air, the happiness surrounding the Salvatore Boarding School yet every night Lizzie woke up around 1 am with the desire for some food and whenever she was in the kitchen at that time she felt like something was missing, even when little Pedro was with her eating some ice-cream at ungodly hours and telling her about his day the feeling was still there, following her around as if it were her own shadow.

 

Lizzie had been having a lot of dreams recently, at first, they were more like nightmares in which Lizzie always tried to save this stranger from darkness but never succeed to do so. Then, the stranger turned into a beautiful auburn haired girl with fascinating blue eyes and a smile to die for. The nightmares turned into sweet dreams that Lizzie looked for every time she fell asleep, in these dreams Lizzie perpetually felt happy and peaceful unlike when she was awake and haunted by the need to find out who Hope Mikaelson was and why there was no trace of her around the school. In these dreams, Lizzie was often holding the other girl’s hand while lying in bed and staring at the starry sky and talking and sharing secrets. These dreams felt so real that sometimes when Lizzie would wake up she would turn around expecting to find the lovely girl next to her only to be disappointed and to remind herself that it was just a dream. From time to time when she was bored in class and zoned out she would start thinking about the girl from her dreams, thinking about how these dreams felt like old memories, maybe from another life. Perhaps, they were once soulmates, whenever this thought crossed Lizzie’s mind she would smile, what a great life she must have had with this girl.

 

Something that not a lot of people knew about Penelope Park was that the young witch loved art, especially paintings, so now that she had the possibility not to spend her free time reading old books about the merge she decided to learn how to paint. Which explained why she was currently in the art room, as she was about to get a white canvas to paint she noticed a painting in a corner. When she got closer, she gasped not expecting this at all. Who could have painted Lizzie? She looked at the bottom right-hand of the painting and noticed a signature ‘ H.M ’. Did Lizzie had a secret admirer? She stared at the paintings and truly was impressed by it, it made Lizzie look like a literal angel by showing off her blonde hair, highlighting her blue eyes and her smile. Deciding that Lizzie should see this she texted the blonde and told her to join her.

 

‘ Wow! This is splendid ’ said Lizzie standing next to Penelope and observing the painting. ‘ Who painted this? ’ asked Lizzie.

 

‘ I don’t know but look at the bottom the signature says H.M ’ answered Penelope and the blonde gasped when she realized that it could mean Hope Mikaelson.

 

‘ Penelope, we need to talk. I have to tell you something but it has to stay between us ’ said Lizzie deciding that no one but Penelope could help her solve this mystery. When the brunette nodded, Lizzie told her about everything thing from the note to Rafael remembering her in his wolf form to her constantly feeling like something or someone was missing. 

 

Once Lizzie was done talking, Penelope remained silent and thought about what the blonde just told her. If someone was missing there was only one way to find it, look at her book where everything that someone wrote with Penelope’s charmed pen was. The raven-haired girl shared her idea with Lizzie who mentally slapped herself for not having this idea and with a snap of her fingers, Penelope made the book appear. She hadn’t read it for weeks now as she didn’t care about anyone’s secrets now that Josie’s life wasn’t threatened by the merge. 

 

After hours of reading it, they noticed the handwriting that belonged to no one among their friends or classmates. They ripped every page with this handwriting and gathered them together and put them apart to read the rest of the book. Towards the end of the afternoon, they found out multiple things, firstly someone name Hope was mentioned multiple time in Josie’s, Rafael’s, Mg’s, Landon’s and even Alaric’s diaries. Secondly, something called Malivore was a threat to the school and the world. They found out that Malivore had the ability to ingest supernatural beings or humans and erase them from everyone memory. Which would explain why no one could remember Hope Mikaelson.

 

By the end the day, Penelope and Lizzie were once again ready to go on a new adventure together to find this girl which according to everyone’s diaries was one of their close friends. Mg described her as a lonely tribid still morning her family’s deaths but later on, he wrote that she was actually quite funny, selfless and heroic. The witches called it a night and Penelope joined Josie as they both agreed that it was useless to hide it from her while Lizzie decided to stop by her mom’s room.

 

So here she was sitting next to her mother in her bed.

 

‘ Mom, can I ask you something? ’ asked Lizzie and when Caroline nodded she spoke up again ‘ What do you know about the Mikaelsons? ’

 

‘ They are quite the family, actually, they are the most powerful family to ever exist but probably the most troubled one. They were always fighting, killing, torturing and hurting people and sometimes even each other all in the name of family, all in the name of always and forever. But you know that already, you’ve learned it at school so what do you really want to know? ’ Asked Caroline looking at her daughter who seemed stressed. She was hiding something from her, she could see it by the way Lizzie didn’t look her in the eyes. Lizzie had never been a good liar, her eyes showed all of her feelings. And when Lizzie finally made eye contact Caroline immediately noticed her troubled look. Caroline hugged her daughter and Lizzie completely let her facade vanish in her mother’s arms.

 

‘ I am so tired mom ’ said Lizzie, tears filling up her eyes. ‘ Ever since I got shot, I feel like something or someone is missing and it’s killing me inside. I feel like I need someone and I can’t even remember who they are ’ added Lizzie and Caroline held her daughter tighter. ‘ You don’t think I am crazy, right? ’ Asked Lizzie pulling away from the hug.

 

‘ I would never, sweetie ’ answered Caroline reassuring Lizzie. 

 

‘ There’s something that I have to tell you but can you not tell dad, please? ’ asked Lizzie and Caroline agreed. Lizzie snapped her fingers and the note appeared and gave it to Caroline.

 

‘ Call Hope’s aunt, Freya Mikaelson, for the merge. Remember Hope. What does that mean? You wrote this, didn’t you? ’ asked Caroline.

 

‘ See that’s the thing, I don’t remember writing it but I found it in a bedroom the day after I got shot. Anyway, the reason why I mentioned the Mikaelsons is because of this note. I wrote Hope’s aunt Freya Mikaleson so that means that she’s probably Klaus’s daughter since he’s the only one who could have had children ’ said Lizzie.

 

‘ Okay, but why does no one remember her? Besides, the fact that you wrote ‘remember Hope’ means that you knew she will be forgotten ’ replied Caroline. 

 

‘ Well, it could be related to Malivore which is a sort of monster or a walking mud man who can trap people inside of himself and erase them from everyone’s memory. Also, we found out that Malivore was a threat to the world and Mg described Hope as heroic. So my theory is that Hope saved us from Malivore or at least tried to and ended up trapped in Malivore ’ developed Lizzie.

 

‘ It could be possible, believe me, I have seen more unexpected things happened in Mystic Falls. Now, tell me who’s ‘we’ and how did you find all of this? ’ demanded Caroline. 

 

‘ It’s a long story ’ said Lizzie.

 

‘ I have got all the time in the world and I am going nowhere ’ replied Caroline smiling at her daughter who grinned back at her mother confirming that now that the Merge wasn’t an issue she didn’t have to travel as much as she used to. And just like that Lizzie spent the rest of the night telling everything to her mom from Penelope’s charmed pens to her dreams until she fell asleep in her mother’s embrace. 

 

Telling her mother about it was the best decision she ever made as she was now sitting in Caroline’s office with Josie and Penelope. Caroline had been thinking about what her daughter told her two days ago and came up with a plan which was why she gathered them after class this Friday. She explained to the girls her plan and that they were leaving tomorrow morning to go to New Orleans and pay a visit to Freya Mikaelson. Caroline had told Alaric that she was taking the girls on a trip to New Orleans to enjoys some daughters and mother time and decided to invite Penelope as a thank you for what she did for the twins. 

 

So here they were, waiting for someone to open the door of the Mikaelson’s house. 

 

‘ Hi ’ said Freya looking at the unexpected visitors.

 

‘ Hi, sorry to disturb you but we really need your help ’ replied Caroline stepping forward.

 

‘ Do we know each other? ’ asked Freya.

 

‘ Yes, no. Not really. I am Caroline Forbes, I am sure you’ve heard of me. This two are my daughters, Lizzie, and Josie Saltzman and Josie’s girlfriend Penelope Park ’ answered Caroline and Freya nodded her head knowingly.

 

‘ Klaus’s lover from Mystic Falls. Well, come in then ’ said Freya welcoming them inside and leading them to sit in the living room.

 

‘ So, how can I help you? ’ asked Freya.

 

‘ We believe that you have a niece named Hope Mikaelson who attended the Salvator Boarding School for the young and gifted who may have been erased from everybody’s memory because of something called Malivore ’ answered Caroline.

 

‘ I also found this ’ said Lizzie handing Freya the note. Freya grabbed it and read it before giving it back to Lizzie.

 

‘ I think this could be possible, my wife and I have found many pictures of a young girl around the house as well as some of what I assumed to be her belongings and pictures of us with her but we couldn’t remember her even though we tried many times with magic ’ revealed Freya.

 

‘ Can we see the pictures? ’ asked Lizzie, anxiously fidgeting with her phone. She had been right all along and now she was wondering why did she miss this person so much. Freya nodded and walked away to bring some pictures.

 

When Lizzie saw the pictures, she gasped, Hope was the girl of her dreams, literally. Suddenly, she felt her bracelet burning her wrist so she tried to take it off but as soon as she touched it she felt a huge amount of power running through her veins and that was when she remembered everything. She remembered her first encounter with the five-year-old Hope, she remembered how she tried to befriend her, she remembered the fights, the jealousy, and the hatred that she felt towards her until all she could feel was love and admiration for the tribid. She remembered the road trip, their midnight’s snacks, the pageant, the bracelet and how Hope always calmed her down. Finally, she remembered her last conversation with the tribid, the ‘ I love you ’ and her last heroic act. 

 

Hope Mikaelson, the girl she saw in all of her dreams, the first person to reject her, the first person she crushed on, the first person she hated with all of her being, the first girl to love her and the first girl she ever loved. That’s who she had missed for weeks now, that’s who she needed, that’s who she was going to save from that sentient jar of artisanal mayonnaise’s father.

 

Everyone was looking at her worriedly until she told them that she remembered who she was. She told them everything about Hope from her parent’s sacrificing themselves for her so that Freya could understand why Hope felt like a cosmic mistake and decided to also sacrifice herself to kill Malivore.

 

Caroline listened attentively at the way Lizzie described Hope, the way her eyes twinkled when she recalled a happy memory, the way she slightly smiled when she insisted on how stubborn Hope was. Lizzie seemed to really care about this girl who happened to be Klaus’s daughter. Caroline smiled tenderly at her daughter, she cared about Hope in a way that wasn’t so friendly, that much she was sure. She knew her daughter like no one else did and at that moment she promised herself that she would try to do everything to find that girl for her daughter but also for Klaus. Maybe, their daughters could have what they didn’t have together. Maybe that was why Klaus and she didn’t work out. 

 

Now that Lizzie was done talking, they were trying to find a solution to get the tribid back.

 

‘ What if we go back in time and make sure that it never existed, that way Hope never needed to jump into Malivore and she would still be here ’ said Lizzie.

 

‘ No ’ answered Freya, Josie, and Caroline.

 

‘ Why? ’ asked Lizzie.

 

‘ It would mess up with our timeline, for example, Landon would be dead ’answered Caroline.

 

‘ I mean it’s just Landon, plus he’s always complaining about his shitty past if he never existed then he would never have to go through the foster system and so on. Honestly, we would be doing him a favor ’ replied Lizzie and Penelope nodded until Josie glared at her and smacked her arm.

 

‘ Lizzie ’ said Caroline while staring at her daughter in a way that told Lizzie she should stop insisting.

 

‘ Fine ’ replied Lizzie, crossing her arms over her chest.

 

‘ Besides, it would be impossible to go back in time, we’re witches not some time travelers ’ said Freya. ‘ But I think I have an idea ’ added Freya getting everyone’s attention. ‘ That bracelet that you’re wearing is connected to Hope’s magic right? So we could locate her by using this bracelet’

 

‘ Oh my god, yes, let’s do it ’ replied Lizzie standing up.

 

‘ How about you sit down and let me, an adult handle it ’ said Freya.

 

‘ We could help, besides this is a simple spell ’ replied Lizzie sitting down next to Penelope. ‘ Not trying to brag or anything but she put an end to the Gemini coven’s curse so I think that we can handle it too ’ said Lizzie pointing at a smirking Penelope.

 

‘ It is true and now they aren’t just siphoner ’ revealed Penelope backing up Lizzie. 

 

‘ Really? Well, okay then, I’ll let you try but if you fail you let me take care of it ’ said Freya amused by the witches and the three witches nodded. 

 

They failed and now they were resting in the Mikaelson’s house while Freya went to get the help oh her friend Vincent.

 

It happened all quickly, Freya barged into the house after disappearing for hours and told them that she knew where to find Hope. According to Freya, when Hope jumped into Malivore she did indeed kill him but that didn’t kill her as she simply was more powerful than Malivore was. Therefore, Hope found herself trapped in this universe between the living and the dead where it was just darkness, loneliness, and emptiness. Freya told them everything that she knew about this place, how it drove people crazy, how dangerous it was as witches in the past used to send their enemies there. It was a sort of magical hell, where all of your deepest and most hidden fears came true. She warned them that they will have to open the gates of this universe and be fast or else some threatening beings could escape. 

 

And of course, the gates so happened to be hidden in the woods of Mystic Falls. So they went back to the Salvator Boarding School and Caroline explained everything to Alaric while Freya, Josie, Penelope, and Lizzie were practicing the spell to open it and close it. Freya and Lizzie fought over who was going to enter the universe and look for Hope. Lizzie won claiming that she shared a deep connection with Hope and could find her easily. Lizzie also insisted on the fact that Freya had a daughter and a wife waiting for her to come home so she had rather be the one taking this risk.

 

They stood in front of an old looking tree, Freya stabbed the tree and it didn’t leave a scar or anything, that was how they knew it was actually the gates of this universe in disguise. They started chanting and soon enough a sort of dark tunnel appeared in the middle of tree’s trunk. Lizzie stopped chanting and grabbed her bracelet and enter the universe while Caroline stood there anxiously looking at her daughter who disappeared.

 

Lizzie whispered a spell to enlighten the space but even then she could barely see anything, it was like in her first dream when she met the teenager that actually was Hope. She ran around the place knowing that the witches couldn’t hold the gates open forever. Suddenly, she noticed a figure in the corner and went near it, she touched the person’s shoulder but when they turned around, Lizzie saw a woman with stitched lips and eyes yet she could notice a smirk on the woman’s face. Deciding that she didn’t have the time to fight the woman she cast a sleeping spell and keep on looking for Hope.

 

Lizzie looked at her watch and realized that she only had two minutes to find the girl before the gates would trap her inside. This place was endless, running around would just be useless so Lizzie came up with an idea and hoped that it would work. She touched the diamond on her bracelet but instead of siphoning Hope’s magic as she usually did, she sent her magic to Hope, hoping that just like she did Hope would feel Lizzie’s magic.


	12. Chapter 12

When Hope woke up there after jumping into malivore, she was confused, she knew that she wasn’t dead otherwise she wouldn’t be here, she would be with her family but here she was alone. No one to talk to, no one to look at you, no one to touch you, it felt like she didn’t even exist. At first, it was bearable, she reminded herself why she did that, she did it to save the world, her family and her friends. She did what she was meant to do, kill Malivore and protect everyone. And for a while, it did work to remind herself why she did it until it didn’t until it hurt too much to remember what she lost by doing so. 

 

Sleep, wake up, think, sleep, wake up, think. That was her routine nowadays and it drove her crazy. She was so tired, so lonely, so beaten up by everything. She didn’t want to stay here and sometimes she let herself hope, hope that someone will come and save her but she knew it was impossible. After all, no one could look for her if no one remembered her. She cried a lot. She cried until she physically couldn’t anymore.

 

To past the time, she would pace around in the dark trying to avoid thinking about people, about anything at all. She did that for a while, walk aimlessly to avoid thinking but then she was simply too tired to stand up. She had no water and no food and it impacted her strength so she would just lay on the floor. 

 

It felt as if she had been here forever, she had lost track of time. She was depressed and exhausted both mentally and physically. She wanted to die so that she wouldn't be alone, she wanted to join her family. She missed them, her parents, her uncles, her aunts, the school, her friends, she even missed doctor Saltzman. 

 

Sometimes when she allowed herself to think about her life before her sacrifice, she would close her eyes and reminisce about her time with Lizzie. She would recall her midnight snacks with the blonde and Pedro, the pageant, screaming in the woods and so much more. She would close her eyes and try to paint Lizzie’s face in her head, she would try to remember the exact color of her eyes. These moments were the only time she had a gosht of a smile on her face.

 

Hope was laying on her back looking at the darkness suffocating her as per usual until she unexpectedly felt magic running through her veins. For the first time in a while, she saw some light and it came from her necklace. Her necklace which was connected to Lizzie. She stood up abruptly. Was the young witch in trouble? What was happening? Why did she felt magic in her body? She looked around herself and saw another source of light and decided to walk closer to it. As she got closer, she noticed a tall woman with blonde hair and ocean’s eyes.

 

‘ Lizzie? ’ said Hope, unsure whether it was really her or just her mind messing with her. 

 

60 seconds.

 

Lizzie turned around after hearing Hope calling her name. She saw the young tribid and run towards her before hugging her tightly. 

 

45 seconds. 

 

‘ Hope we have to leave now. Run as fast as you can’ said Lizzie pulling away from Hope and holding her hand. When Hope nodded, they both started to run towards the gates.

 

30 seconds. 

 

Hope and Lizzie could finally see the light coming from the real world.

 

15 seconds.

 

They could hear Penelope, Josie and Freya’s voice chanting. 

 

10 seconds. 

 

‘ The gates are gonna close soon’ pointed out Josie.

 

‘ They’ll make it. Lizzie always does, JoJo ’ replied Penelope. She wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince Josie or herself. 

 

4 seconds. 

 

Freya shared a worried look with Caroline.

 

3 seconds.

 

The gates were slowly closing.

 

2 seconds.

 

The witches chanted the spell louder hoping that it would hold just a bit longer.

 

1 second.

 

Lizzie and Hope jumped right before the gates closed. Hope looked around and let herself fell into unconsciousness as her body and brain were so tired from this experience in this weird universe. And of course, Lizzie was there to catch her. Hope wasn’t alone anymore.

 

As soon as Hope was out of this place, everyone remembered her. Guess Malivore wasn’t the only place able to make people forget other people. Everyone was excited to see Hope back, now that they remembered everything, what happened with Landon’s father made sense and wasn’t a complete mystery. Lizzie found out that Alaric was also looking for Hope in secret with Landon and bragged about her being able to find her and demanded to now play a bigger part in the school. She wanted to go to special missions with him too and know what was going on even if it could be dangerous. She wasn’t the girl that she used to be. Her fate wasn’t in people’s hand anymore, it was in hers.

 

Hope stayed asleep for two days. Staying without food and water for so long would have killed anyone. But Hope wasn’t anyone, she was a tribid. During these two days, Freya and Lizzie stayed in the nursery with her. Her friends would come and stay a bit but Lizzie never left her side wanting to be here when the tribid would wake up. 

 

Lizzie had never been lucky in her life so of course, the one time she listened to her father and went to get some sleep on a bed instead of on a chair was the moment Hope woke up.

 

When Hope opened her eyes, she sat up, looked around and saw her best friend and her aunt who immediately rushed towards her and hugged her. Hope took a deep breath, she wasn’t alone and she was back to her normal life, well, as normal as it can be in Mystic Falls. After talking with them and all of her friends who barged in as soon as Penelope texted them the news, she had dinner with them. Penelope wanted to wake up the blonde but Hope told Penelope to let her rest after the raven-haired girl informed her of all of Lizzie’s efforts to find the tribid. Hope wanted the blonde to get some rest, besides, she wanted to talk to her privately so she will find her later.

 

Eventually, everyone went to sleep as it was late and her friends had school the following day so she showered and went to her old bedroom. She expected it to be different, what she did not expect was Lizzie Saltzman fast asleep on her bed. She slowly closed to door and walked quietly around the room and sat down next to Lizzie and admired Lizzie’s face. The blonde always looked so peaceful asleep, she had missed her so much. It felt unreal being this close to the blonde after weeks of solitude. She lightly brushed her hand against Lizzie’s face before lying next to Lizzie on the bed. She put her arm around Lizzie’s waist and closed her eyes.

 

In the middle of the night, Lizzie woke up and felt someone’s body close to hers and was freaking out, she remembered falling asleep alone until she recognized Hope’s smell. She slowly turned around not wanting to wake the tribid up and held Hope closer. She rested her head against Hope’s collarbone and wrapped her arms around her. Lizzie contently sighed. She was holding in her arms what she had been missing for so long. She could breathe again now that she felt at home. Hope was her home. She couldn’t deny it anymore. Then, a giant grin appeared on her face when she remembered Hope’s last words to her. She loved her and Lizzie loved Hope. Perhaps, Lizzie will finally be part of a power couple.

 

‘ Hi ’ softly whispered Hope. Lizzie looked up and was hit by Hope’s beauty and the fondness in her stare that Lizzie couldn’t control herself anymore. She straddled Hope and kissed the tribid with all of her love, need and desire for the other girl. Hope was startled by Lizzie’s boldness nevertheless she kissed her back with as much love as Lizzie was conveying through this kiss. Hope’s hands settled on Lizzie’s neck pulling the girl closer. When oxygen became a problem, Lizzie pulled away smiling and blushing when she noticed the infamous Mikaleson’s smirk plastered on the auburn-haired girl’s face.

 

‘ What a surprising way to say good morning ’ said Hope chuckling and Lizzie rolled her eyes.

 

‘ Well, what can I say? ’ replied Lizzie getting closer to Hope’s face and then brushing her lips with Hope’s ones. ‘ I am full of surprises ’ added Lizzie before kissing the tribid passionately once again. Hope moaned against her lips and moved her hands to grab Lizzie’s waist and pull her as closely as she could. Lizzie’s lips traveled down Hope’s neck laying soft kisses and Hope’s hands moved to the blonde’s hair.

 

‘ I have missed you so much ’ whispered Lizzie into Hope’s ear before licking her lobe and Hope held her breathe at the revelation.

 

‘ Did you remember me? ’ breathlessly asked Hope while Lizzie kept on driving her crazy with her lips on her neck and her hands touching her body in ways the blonde never did before today. 

 

‘ How could I possibly forget you? ’ asked back Lizzie tenderly staring into Hope’s eyes. She fondled the tribid’s cheek and Hope leaned into her touch. Lizzie got off Hope and sat on her side of the bed. Once Hope sat up too the blonde grabbed Hope’s hands and held them. ‘ I love you, Hope ’ simply revealed Lizzie which made a huge smile appear on Hope’s face.

 

‘ I love you too, Liz ’ lovingly replied Hope leaning to meet the blonde’s lips but stopped when she heard her stomach rumbled. Lizzie laughed, stood up and reached out her hand. Hope smiled and grabbed Lizzie’s hand before standing up too.

 

‘ Come on, Hope. Let’s get you something to eat ’ said Lizzie walking towards the kitchen while holding the tribid’s hand.

 

‘ Oh, dare I believe you for once will cook something for me? ’ jokingly asked Hope and Lizzie giggled.

 

‘ Now, Hope don’t be stupid. Why cook when I could magically make it appear? ’ responded Lizzie before using the Sandwico venarum spell. Hope smiled once she got it but almost dropped it when she realized that Lizzie didn’t siphon any magic.

 

‘ How did you do that? ’ asked Hope surprised and impressed.

 

‘ I can do a lot of new things now. I guess you have a lot to catch up ’ replied Lizzie before going on and on about how Penelope saved them from the merge and made them more powerful in the process.

 

‘ Hope, we’re like the most powerful couple on earth ’ excitedly said Lizzie.

 

‘ So we’re a couple? ’ asked Hope, a smirk on her face.

 

‘ I mean if you want to. Of course, if you don’t it’s completely okay. We can like be friends or- ’ rambled Lizzie, eyes wide open before Hope interrupted her by kissing her.

 

‘ Of course, I want us to be a couple. That is if you want to be my girlfriend ’ said Hope and Lizzie rapidly nodded before meeting Hope’s lips. 

 

They slowly pulled away, both blushing and giggling once they met each other’s eyes. Their hearts were beating faster than ever but somehow they felt at peace and happy.

 

‘ Can I get a sandwich too? ’ asked little Pedro interrupting them once he noticed the untouched sandwich on the table. 

 

‘ Of course, you can ’ replied Hope and made one appear in Pedro’s hands. They laughed at Pedro’s impressed face and Lizzie contently listened to Pedro and Hope talking. 

 

And at that moment, she realized that she finally felt safe. Here, in the kitchen of the Salvator Boarding School with Hope, her girlfriend, and Pedro, her little brother from another mom. 

 

Monsters will still await them, trials will still test them and the world will still need saving from evil but at least they got each other and together they will get through it all. 

 

Lizzie truly believed that. And so did Penelope who just so happened to walk past the kitchen and witness the happiness so obviously plastered on their faces. She smiled to herself, glad that Lizzie and Hope had finally found their way to each other. With a last glance towards them, she walked back to her room where a sleeping Josie awaited her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked the way I ended this fic. I am kinda sad that this is the end but at least I am working on a new fic with hizzie as childhood best friends. As promised everyone got their happy endings! Let me know in the comments your thoughts about it!!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know if you did. I'll try to post a new chapter twice a week. You can follow me on twitter @hizzieendgame


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